Destined
by The Wolfram
Summary: AU: Emma is found as a baby by Merlin's animal companion Sascha the raven. With the help of Granny (Widow Lucas), Merlin brings up Emma himself. But bigger things are in store for the young blonde, and one day she will have to find out why she was abandoned as an infant. This is her journey through self discovery and finding her place in a world of swords and sorcery. [SwanQueen]
1. Chapter 1

**I have overhauled the chapters and cleaned a few things up (****Honestly it had to be done, it was driving my OCD crazy)**. I** hope those of you who have read it before will like the changes I have made.**

**Those of you who are reading this for the first time won't notice, so welcome, enjoy.**

**And so without further ado here is the first chapter of Destined.**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

Merlin made his way on the usual path into the woods stopping from time to time to make sure that certain plants were easily accessible if he required them in the future.

He would often bring an extra satchel to transport plants that he would want to grow by his home. Truly he favoured nature over city life. He detested city life all together honestly.

He was also seen as being too eccentric to live among what others called the civilised. But all-in-all he was most happy to live quietly by himself. Well he was alone most of the time, he did enjoy visiting a nice lady who called herself Widow Lucas, she would insist that everyone call her Granny, but seeing how Merlin was older than her age it seemed most improper of him to refer to her with such a way.

'_Caw!_'

The slightly blued eyed raven called out, which caused Merlin to pull away from his current thoughts.

"What is it Sascha?" Merlin asked softly.

He looked over to his faithful creature companion eyeing her for a moment, then when she did not continue he decided she was just being needy.

The raven flew to a nearby branch and cried out again. Merlin just shook his head trying to ignore her and continued looking at a plant that had caught his eye. But Sascha was not giving in. She started to cry out again this time with more exertion.

"For Odin's sake Sascha what is the matter!?" His voice now was filled with annoyance.

Merlin stood up straight and stared at the raven trying to figure out why she was repeatedly calling out 'hello'. He was not in the mood for her attention seeking behaviour, especially when he was busy with his precious plants.

Sascha fluttered her wings and ruffled her feathers puffing out her chest.

"Don't you start that attitude with me! I'm not the one making all the noise." He waggled a finger at her while walking towards the flustered bird.

Sascha shook her head and fluffed herself out again to spite him. This time instead of calling out to the noise in the distance she decided it best to just go towards it.

Merlin watched her take off deeper into the woods heading north. He frowned slightly now puzzled at her sudden departure. But brushed it off instantly and continued observing the plant.

xxx

Sascha flew through the increasingly dense woods making her way ever closer to the noise that she could clearly hear unlike her Keeper. It set her senses on edge as the wailing got louder. Which caused her have second thoughts on whether this was a good idea still. But the curiosity was far stronger than the building fear.

It was still early in the morning and the fog had almost cleared, initially this caused her miss the creature first flight over, but she quickly adjusted herself and zeroed in on its location.

Sascha expertly landed on the lowest branch on a tree to peer down at the creature before her. Its language was similar to her own which is what had spiked her attention in the first place. But when she tried to communicate with it in her own language again it was completely ignorant.

'_Caw, caw, caaaaw!_'

The creature stirred beneath her, but did not talk back.

She bobbed her head around and tried to see it in better detail. As she inspected it she had noticed that it was no longer calling out any more. In fact it was completely quite now.

'_CAAAWWW!_' She called out in a greeting hoping the creature would at least understand 'hello' when it heard it. She thought that it may be deaf, which would explain its speech being difficult to comprehend.

But all these assumptions faded when she recognised what it was.

It was a tiny Human. And her Keeper was the only human that understood her.

She ruffled herself and dove done to get a closer look. Upon landing on the ground the tiny Human gurgled while its little arms flailed around like it was trying to catch something invisible. Sascha thought it was all very strange.

She pulled at the yellow material covering it from the torso down. She wanted to make sure it had legs. Humans have legs she thought, because her Keeper has legs.

The tiny Human's legs kicked back and forth together, must like a frog's legs would.

Sascha was completely confused now. The Human had legs and yet it was not walking. What poor fortune had befallen this Human she wondered.

This was all too much for to deal with, and she took off to get her Keeper. He would know what to do.

xxx

Merlin was inside his little tree trunk cottage using a mortar and pestle. He had found some very exciting new plants and was eager to start experimenting with their potential properties right away.

Meanwhile Sascha flew in through the little window above the front door and perched herself on her stand. She flapped her wings to create enough noise to get her Keepers attention. She thought it best not to call out to him just in case he threw something at her. He had a tendency to throw things when he was mixing plants, he disliked to be interrupted.

Merlin spun around and looked at Sascha while he continued to mash the ingredients.

"My dear what has gotten in to you today? Are you feeling all right?"

Sascha could tell by the tone of his voice that he was generally concerned. It was now or never, she needed his full attention.

'_I_ _found tiny Human'_

(Merlin was fluent in the languages of animals and so to him Sascha sounded like any other human in conversation)

Upon hearing this he stopped stirring and put down the mortar and pestle onto the table. He slowly stepped towards her with furrowed eye brows.

"What do you mean tiny human?"

'_Tiny as in small, but it looks like you, well not exactly like you because you have hair on your face, it did not. At first I thought it was like me because of the language it was speaking, which was similar to mine. I asked it if it was okay but it did not reply. I even greeted it in hopes that it would then talk back, but, but it stopped talking completely._' She paused in mid thought and then continued.

'_It has legs though, so I can't see why it can't simply walk-_'

"Sascha stop. Just show me where this tiny human is please." He knew that she would just continue talking if he let her. Most of the time he did not mind her blabbering, but this was not a good time to allow it.

Both of them then made their way back out into the woods.

xxx

By night fall the baby had finally fallen asleep allowing Merlin time to sit in front of the fire and contemplate on what had transpired that day.

"I have been completely thrown by this event Sascha."

Merlin turned his head to look at her. He drew a long puff on his pipe and then breathed back out. With the other hand he stroked his long silver beard.

Sascha made a small chirp noise to acknowledge she was listening, but she was also very tired and close to falling asleep.

He looked back at the fireplace and continued to smoke his pipe enjoying the silence that now occupied his home.

"A baby… What on Odin's blessed planet am I to do?" He asked himself quietly.

He put done his pipe and got up from his chair. He knew that he had a book on infants somewhere in his library, and it was probably best to read it now before the baby woke up. He ascended up the ladder into the library and instantly the smell of musty books filled his nostrils.

"Did you know Sascha that I have never been around a baby longer than a week?"

He bobbed and weaved around numerous shelves looking for the exact book he knew had a small amount of information about newborns. He had just a few books on the medical subject but not directly on infants.

"Do you think Widow Lucas will help me? I'd expect her to ask about how it came about…" Merlin knew his bird friend was completely asleep, but he found it comforting being able to voice his thoughts out loud.

"_Why Merlin how did you get a baby?! Where did it come from, who does it belong to, and what will you do?_" He tried to emulate Granny's voice in a friendly mocking fashion.

As he was about to voice another thought his hand finally fell on the thin book he had been searching for. He quickly grabbed it and went back down to his warm chair. Unfortunately he didn't get far reading it, as the infant stirred and started to wail.

"Oh sweet thing hang on I'm coming." He placed the book down and hastily moved towards the lower part of the house. He had placed the baby on his bed and put a pillow on each side of it to make sure it did not roll away.

He knew a few things, but not enough to be confident in taking complete responsibility. And this worried him greatly. He did not want to make a mistake when it came to a child. He thought them to be the greatest gifts in life, they held so much potential and they needed their parents to help guide them. He had to ensure that it was safe when he returned back it to its parents.

Sascha opened one eye and watched Merlin leave the main room, but she thought it better to leave her Keeper to make sure the Human was okay and so she settled herself to go back to sleep.

xxx

The next morning was proving to be most difficult for both Sascha and Merlin. The baby would not stop screaming, and when it all became too much for the raven she decided to take flight and leave for a quieter scene.

"Traitor!" cried out Merlin seeing Sascha's departure.

He was hoping she could distract the infant while he read a bit more on the different cries babies made for different things. But he also knew that with her sensitive ears the noise may be all too much for her to handle. He huffed in the raven's direction and continued to rock the baby back and forth in his arms.

"Oh little one please stop crying, please, please, please."

The baby's face was now turning red and it caused Merlin to panic. He had no idea what was wrong. He scurried around the kitchen looking for anything to use as a temporary dummy.

"I didn't want to use magic, but I think in this circumstance I may break my own rule."

He pulled the baby close to his chest to hold it with one arm and with the other he conjured a small rubber nipple with a handle on the end. When it had finished manifesting to what he thought was adequate only then did he lowered the baby away from his chest and popped the dummy into its mouth.

Silence.

He plopped himself down in his chair with a sigh of relief.

"Today I think I will go to see Widow Lucas much earlier than usual."

The baby started to wave its arms around and focused on making them come together. It frowned with such concentration as it tried over and over to bring its hands to meet one another. Merlin looked on with such content, and let out a small chuckle as the infant became increasingly frustrated with its arms not doing what it wanted it to.

In that moment Merlin knew that there was something special about this child, that if the parents could not be found he would want to raise the child himself. Of course Widow Lucas would help, and in all honesty he would need all the help he could muster.

xxx

"MERLIN! What on earth are you thinking, do you have any idea how much work children are?!"

As Merlin foretold Widow Lucas was beside herself with the fact he now had a baby in his possession. Granny took the baby from his arms and rocked it back and forth.

"So is it a boy or a girl?" Granny asked as she peppered kisses on its forehead and peered at Merlin.

He stroked his beard trying to buy himself some time before answering her.

"Um… Well you see I haven't needed to change it's under garments and so I have not seen the gender of the child…" He looked at Widow Lucas and the baby while trying to explain himself.

Granny shook her head from side to side. She let out a very audible sigh and walked towards Merlin.

"Well aren't you the guardian of the year," Granny was not pleased with Merlin's lack of attention toward the baby. "Here hold it while I go and get some clothes for the poor mite."

He wasn't hurt by her words, she spoke the truth, and he was not coping at all.

"Lucas please-"

"Widow, Merlin, it's Widow Lucas." She gave him a quick look and then disappeared into a room.

"I'm sorry," He respected whatever title she wished to give herself, and he was terribly tired from being up most the night with the baby. "Widow Lucas, could you please ask your friend to search for any parents who are missing an infant in town?"

He waited for what felt like a long moment before Granny came back with a small stack of baby's garments.

"What that Graham fellow? I'm afraid he won't be back to mine until next season. He has gone back off with a pack and I suspect it may have something to do with the dispute on eastern border."

Merlin blinked at this, he hadn't heard anything about a dispute.

"Dispute? What are you talking about?!" He strode towards Granny with intensity.

"Merlin please don't tell me you of all people have not heard of what has been transpiring in the Eastern Kingdoms?" She eyed him, seeing if his reaction would give her an answer first.

He pressed the infant towards his chest to allow his other hand to become free to stroke his beard at a nervous pace. His eyes were darting while he tried desperately to think of all the possible things that could be going wrong.

"It's all about the Eastern Kingdoms trade agreement not going very well with the Southern Kingdoms, something about unfair profits." Granny explained.

Merlin's stopped his hand half way down his beard. He would have to find out more about this matter at another time. He had something much dire to get through first.

"By Odin's beard, Widow Lucas I can't think of such things at this moment in time, I have a baby to take care of!" He remarked, now holding the infant with both hands rocking it back and forth.

xxx

Granny poured the warm bath water over the baby's belly. She smiled at the infant with such warmth that it started to smile back at her.

"Oh, you're such a beautiful little girl."

Granny playfully pitter-pattered her finger tips across the baby's stomach, then picked up a cloth and started to wash her.

The baby girl had been placed in a small tub which was on top of a dark wooden table in Granny's kitchen. Granny thought it best to take care of her while Merlin took a short break. Honestly what is that man thinking? She wondered to herself.

"Merlin you have a baby girl," Granny turned her head to face the wizard who was sitting quietly on a chair near a window, "Merlin!" She spat, trying to snap him out from his current silent state.

"Hmm, um, oh yes I'm sorry. What is it dear?" He snapped his head towards her as if she had sworn at him rather than just call out his name.

"I said you have a baby girl." She raised a single eye brow at him in question as to whether he was all together there or completely lost to his thoughts.

"Oh that's nice," he answered and then he started to stroke his silvery beard. "I suppose I should start trying to find her parents then." He rose up from the chair and looked out the window.

Granny watched him for a moment and then turned her attention back to washing the infant. She was starting to worry about her friends' behaviour, she knew he was a strange fellow, but he now appeared more so than usual.

"What are you thinking Merlin? You need to tell me what's going through that head of yours"

He stopped stroking his beard and did not turn to look to her, but rather he out spoke towards the window. "I honestly don't think I will find her parents." He looked down at the window seal and closed his eyes. "I think she may have been abandoned for a very specific reason." He now turned his head towards Granny. She could clearly see worry spread across his weathered face.

"Why do you think that?"

Merlin turned back to look out the window once again.

"Think about it dear, she was left out in one of the darkest deepest parts of the woods, and all she had with her been a yellow knitted blanket." He straightened up after realising that he did not closely inspected the blanket she came with. He was too busy fussing over her and making sure that she wasn't hurt.

"By Odin's Gungnir!" He whispered in realisation.

"My lovely lady could you do me the kindest of favours and take care of the baby for some time today while I go check something urgently?" He rushed to grab his hat and staff before heading towards Granny's front door.

"Merlin where are you off to?" Granny asked as she stopped washing the baby. "Honestly you're crazier than usual, I know children can send you up the wall but you haven't had the baby more than a day-" Her words were lost on him as he took off out the door and strode down a path. She figured by his direction he was heading back to his own dwelling.

Granny grabbed the infant and marched to her front door which was still wide open.

"Merlin!" She called out, "Merlin you silly old fool, when will you be back?!" She was still yelling and was sure that if anyone was looking on they would have assumed she was the crazy one. She huffed in annoyance and slammed the wooden door behind her when she went back inside.

"My sweet child you are in for a world of trouble if he doesn't find your parents." She placed the baby back into the tub and finished cleaning her.

Once that was done she dried her off and clothed the infant in a warm green woollen gown and placed a matching coloured coif on her head.

"My daughter use to wear this when she was first born…" Her eyes started to tear at the memory. "Oh but let's not get into that shall we, I have a lovely pair of booties that I know you will look so adorable in." Granny smiled at the infant, but it soon fell away.

"Oh Merlin what have you gotten yourself into?"

xxx

"Emma!" Merlin boomed out from his bedroom. He held the blanket while rushing around the small house. "Sascha I have something very important for you to do."

The raven had her head tucked in a quiff of feathers, trying to appear deep in slumber. She was not excited about the baby any more.

Merlin shook her stand gently to wake her, which in turn caused Sascha to squawk at him in vexation.

'_Keeper, why do you bother me so?_' She cawed.

"Come now there is much work to be done!" He exclaimed raising a bony finger above his head. "I need you to look for this word in the main town not far from here. I need to know if there are any posters about the baby." He held the blanket up to the bird, showing the name Emma embroidered in dark purple.

Sascha eyed it briefly and then fluffed herself out turning her head away to indicate she wanted to sleep more than read.

Merlin grabbed the stand firmly and shook it hard enough for the raven to topple off. She flapped her wings and to slow her fall to the floor, and shot him a look of utter disgust as best as a bird could.

"You're wearing my patience thin Sascha. Now please do as I ask." He crouched down and showed her the word once more. "Think of it this way, if you find her parents she will not live here with us." He smiled at her, partly because he wanted her to know that he wasn't angry, and the other half was more of a smirk knowing full well that she would find nothing.

'_What if I find no word like that anywhere, what then huh? You will still keep her and its' screams will keep me awake._'

"Look I can always conjure a bubble of silence that can be placed over you when you wish to sleep."

'_No! I could be attacked and you would never know, I'd cry out and no one would come, I would surely meet my doom!_' She puffed herself out at the very thought.

Merlin sighed and pressed his main finger and thumb against the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some of his building frustration. Then he rubbed his entire hand down his face.

He couldn't believe it, here he was Leader of the Druids, High Wizard of Men, and yet he was squabbling with a raven.

"Enough!" He stood back up and folded the blanket up, "You will go into town and try your best to find the word, and you will return this afternoon, I am not arguing with you anymore."

Sascha hopped about a few times trying to decide if she would go back to her perch or do as he commanded. She concluded that she needed some fresh air anyhow and that while she was doing that she would out of boredom look for his stupid word.

* * *

A week had passed since Emma had been found, and to Merlin's delight he successfully worked out what the infant's routines were. If he didn't know how to deal with something he would go straight to Widow Lucas for extra help. She was Merlin's only close friend, aside from Sascha, since he decided to isolate himself out in the woods.

It had also been an exhausting week, but a pivotal turning point for Merlin. It had tested him on every level of whether he in all honestly could take care of a baby. And much to his own amazement he was actually kind of good at it.

Expect tonight, he was terrible. Emma wailed and wailed, and everything he tried to sooth her just wouldn't work. It was also far too late of the night to take her to Widow Lucas' place for help, no, he had to work this one out himself.

He rocked her back and forth in his arms pleading for her to settle.

'_Cast that silence spell you were going to for me, just, just get it to shut it up!_' Sascha had reached her breaking point.

"Honestly Sascha, you don't have to be here, you can go sleep outside if you want. I'm not forcing you to stay." He placed Emma in the wooden crib that Granny had given him.

He did give the silence spell a serious thought, but voted against it. He was afraid not hearing the infant's voice would lead him into a worse situation.

"I need to go and relieve myself, could…" He looked at his companion, "Could you just watch her while I'm gone for a moment?"

Sascha flew over to the end of the crib and hopped about. It was then Emma stopped crying.

Both Merlin and the raven turned to each other in disbelief.

'_You have got to be kidding me?!_' Sascha exclaimed while continuing to hop up and down the end of the crib. She was afraid if she stopped moving the baby would wail again.

"Perhaps you could try singing to her?" He suggested amusingly while he walked towards the front door. "I shan't be long." He smiled at the raven in her dance like display to keep the infant peaceful, and then he headed outside.

Once Merlin left and she was sure he was far enough away from the house she hopped closer to the Emma's head and peered at her. She watched as the infant waved it's arms around while making gurgling noises.

_I don't do this for anyone, runt, so don't think I like you or anything. I'm doing it because it will shut you up_. She thought to herself.

Deciding to give the old coots suggestion a go, she tried to remember what other birds sounded like to emulate the tunes to her best abilities.

'_tok tok tok, kloo-klak, tok tok tok,kraaak._'

Emma giggled at Sascha's clicks and croaks, which enticed the raven to continue making the noises.

Moments later Merlin came jogging in with a worried look on his face, tying his cord around his waist in the process.

"Sascha are you okay?" Merlin looked at her completely puzzled.

The raven flicked her head up and puffed herself out, letting out a sniff of disapproval.

It was then Merlin realised he had just insulted her. She had taken his advice about singing to the infant seriously, and while it was partly a joke he honestly had thought she would not actually try to sing. Not that ravens couldn't sing, they were very good at mimicking other creatures and even to a degree human speech, but she was no song sparrow.

He chuckled, not at her, but at the whole scene. Sascha did not see it that way though. Clearly reaching the end of being humiliated she took off out the opened window above to door.

Merlin shrugged, he would have called out to her, but he knew she just needed some time to herself.

"Emma I think I just may have wounded Sascha's pride." He leaned down to pick the now quiet baby up. But stopped, one he hadn't washed his hands, and two the baby was actually quite now so there was absolutely no reason for him to disturb her.

xxx

Merlin studied the circular drawing in his book. He ran his index finger across the numbers until he reached the exact numeration that indicated the day.

"My word it's been a complete month already." He was generally surprised at how fast time was passing by. He pulled out his pipe and stuffed a few herbs into the bowl. He brought the bite to his mouth and with a single click of his fingers he lit the other end, gently sucking on the mouth piece to keep the embers burning.

It was his one pleasure in life, his one vice he allowed himself to have. He was fortunate though, he could counteract the negative side effects of smoking with a simple spell. This made him feel a little bias thinking about it now, on one hand he would warn others about the dangers of it, and on the other he was puffing away.

"Horse piss! I'm allowed to indulge in one thing for Odin's sake. I shouldn't feel guilty." He exclaimed bring his fist down with a thump against the wooden table top. He looked down at his clenched fist and slowly unclenched it. Perhaps it was best he just quite it for a while, for the baby's sake.

He emptied his herb satchel out the window and tapped his pipe to also get rid of the ash. He caressed the pipe one last time. It had been a gift to him from someone very special. But refusing to bring old memories about he quickly tucked it away into its pouch where it would stay for quiet sometime.

Merlin knew that there would be significant changes to his lifestyle having a child living with him. He knew all the risks he was taking and the danger it could bring him. He had given it much thought, and even considered Widow Lucas' offer to take her for him. But there was something about Emma that he could not put his figure on.

For some celestial reason he had to be the one to take care of her. He was certain that she had the ability to also cast spells, because she had a certain aura about her. He figured that may be the reason he was originally drawn to her. But lately there was something else niggling under the surface, something darker in the background, maybe not with her, but something to do with her fate. He contemplated that this could be the reason why she was abandoned in the first place.

He stroked his beard thinking about it. Perhaps he could look up a spell that could peer into the girl's possible future or past? But that would be risky and the price for it was too high. No, he would continue to watch over her and trust in his instincts.

Sascha cawed at him and flew onto his shoulder. Merlin smiled and scratched the back of her head. She cooed slightly at him, she enjoyed the touch from time to time.

"I'm very glad you have warmed up to her, she is very fond of you. I'm not surprised though, you are a delightful companion."

Sascha fluffed her plumage out and tried not to answer him, she felt he was baiting her. But his voice did sound sincere, and he may be earnestly giving her a compliment.

'_Yes Keeper I do enjoy her company, but not when she is wailing like a banshee though._'

Merlin laughed at hearing this, and for the first time in a long time Sascha laughed along with him.

* * *

**Here are a few things that will help you the reader understand the story a little better:**

The curse was never cast in this AU. I have taken the characters from OUAT and placed them into a completely different reality (I don't know whether I should feel sorry for them or not?), Anyway this is a long story, and Emma and Regina will end up together.

The way the map of the world for this alternate universe works is as follows - The Rulers (and Gods/Goddess) of the North and East (they are aligned with each other by the way) were at war with the Rulers (and Gods/Goddess) of the South and West (who are also aligned with each other). Currently our heroes reside in the Northern lands, but will journey to each land, in due time. The names of places and Kingdoms will appear within the story.

I have used a lot of different mythologies as inspiration. Sometimes I've just used a name, other's I have used most of what is known about person 'X' or 'Y' from ancient history. (I did this because if you're interested in looking up the names of these Gods/Deities, then you'll see why I chosen them for each OUAT character, kinda like my own easter eggs for the readers). I however will not say they are Celtic, Greek, or otherwise, I have left it this out on purpose.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

**I do however own the grammatical mistakes**

* * *

"Opa, Opa, OPA!" Emma called out to Merlin as she wandered around the small home. She eventually figured he was up in the library, and being too small to reach the ladder she opted to keep calling out his name, over and over again.

_'__Could you not, seriously?' _Sascha flew down next to Emma and hopped towards her.

Emma backed away from the raven's approach. She was still slightly weary of Sascha after she had bit her. But in Sascha's defence the 5 year old had pulled out two of her tail feathers.

"Don't come any closer Sassa, no, stay there!" Emma held her little arms out in defence.

The raven eyed her but did not move any closer. If she could have physically smirked at that moment she would have.

'_Oh yes fear me puny Human.' _She cawed at Emma while bobbing her head back and forth in a domineering manner. She then puffed herself out and moved a single claw forward. Emma's eyes went wide.

The room fell silent. Emma's light forest green eyes staring at Sascha's manganese blue hue eyes, each waiting for one of them to make the first move.

"I want to make a cinnamon and apple tart." Merlin's voice carried down and out of the trap door to his library. Both Sascha and Emma looked up at the entrance, equally puzzled at his sudden expression for dessert.

A moment later his long silver beard could be seen dangling down from the opening. He popped his head out looking down at both his little girl and his animal companion.

"Well what do you both think?" Merlin looked back and forth at them.

Emma started to wander away from Sascha. This was her chance to escape.

"Okay Opa, that sounds great." She headed for the kitchen to help him make the dish.

Sascha didn't take her eyes off Emma. _To be continued_ she thought. But the raven was sprung from her vengeful contemplation as Merlin slid down the ladder and almost stood on her in the process.

"Oh Sascha, must you get under my feet, you're worse than Em sometimes." He lifted his foot high up to miss stepping on her.

She gave out a high pitched croak and battered her wing furiously to propel herself away from the old man's feet.

"And don't think for a moment I didn't see what you two were about to get into." He leaned down scrutinizing her, and pointed a finger. "You be good you hear me. I don't want the two of you fighting under my roof."

_'__She started it.' _Retorted Sascha as she fixed her feathers up with her beak, brushing them back into place.

Merlin opened his mouth to say some, but closed thinking it would be a waste of breath arguing. He tapped the end of her beak with his index finger to let her know that he was being very serious. "Do you understand Sascha?"

_'__Yes.' _She croaked as she stared at his hand, wondering if she should peck him, but opted not to. Instead she sprung away from him and towards the kitchen.

Merlin watched both Emma and Sascha move around the kitchen. He hoped that they would eventually learn how to work together, it would make their lives so much easier, and his too.

"Opa, I'm ready." She called out to him with a bowl in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other. Merlin smiled at her, "I'll be right there dear, I just have to get the recipe book first."

xxx

"NOOOOO!"

An ear piercing scream awoke Merlin from his sleep. He sat upright and waited to hear it again, but when no noise came he panicked and flung himself out of his rope bed and raced into the study where Emma slept.

When he reached her bed he lifted his left hand up and whispered an incantation that caused a ball of soft light to form in his palm. Then he slowly brought hand down closer to the mound on the bed. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

His mind was ablaze now expecting to see blood or something equally horrible. As the light threw shadows across the room he held his breath and gently lifted her bed sheets back.

Emma was curled up in the fetal position, sweat covering her body, and her breathing was shallow. Once he was certain that she was not physically hurt he focused on her face and saw that her eyes were wide open.

Merlin wasn't sure if he should touch her or not. _Is she in a trance?_ He wondered.

Emma gradually turned her head towards him. He saw lines of tears marked down her cheeks, and then she sucked in her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. He frowned at her, but before he could say anything Emma threw her little arms and body at him. He caught her with his free arm and held her close, and it was then that he noticed she was shaking.

"Opa" She whispered in his chest.

"Yes Emma" He answered, then leaned down and kissed to the top of her head, in the hopes it would comfort her, like it did him.

She sobbed into his chest for a few seconds and then wiped her nose against his undertunic. She pulled back from him, standing upright on the bed, but she did not let go of his arm.

"I saw something scary" She looked at Merlin with new tears welling, "There was a man and he had a big knife, it was the size of his arm" She then turned her head away while thinking back on the nightmare.

"Knife?" Merlin asked almost in a whisper. But before he could question her further, his mind had given him the answer, she must be talking about a sword… but that wasn't possible! She didn't even know what a sword was. She hadn't even seen one before… well, before tonight he guessed. Suddenly he felt his heart race again. He had to know exactly what she had dreamt about.

"Emma, dear, tell me everything you saw, as much as you can remember, and don't be scared to tell me, ok?" Merlin pulled her close to his chest, "because I will keep you safe my precious girl"

xxx

The crackling noise in the fireplace pulled Merlin out, deep from his thought. He hadn't noticed how long he'd been sitting in front of it until he looked out the window to his left.

He could see the first rays of light burst through the morning fog to greet the darkened sky. Suddenly he became very aware of how tired he was when his eyes started to sting. He rubbed them trying to fight away the fatigue.

The conversation he had with Emma was difficult to comprehend, not because she didn't explain herself very well, no, it was the content of her nightmare that was hard to break down.

It had been about things that she shouldn't have any knowledge of. He had never exposed her to such things, and he was pretty sure that when Emma stayed at Widow Lucas' place a few times she was never shown such things. The only thing he could conclude every time he played the information in his head is that she had seen an event in time.

Could she possibly have second sight, was she a _Seidr_?

He shook his head at the very thought. No Seidr had been around since, since… He stopped mid thought, and then rose from his seat and headed for the library.

Sascha had been watching Merlin from her perch, occasionally drifting off to sleep, but then waking up when the fire wood popped from the heat. She was equally as tired as Merlin.

When he headed up to the library she decided to follow him and see if she could be of any help.

Merlin sat at his writing desk with an old black book in front of him. The cover had a picture of green tree drawn by knots that connected to one another, so that the top of the tree's foliage connected with its roots in a circular formation.

Sascha landed on the top shelf of the desk, and eyed the book.

_'__What's that?'_ She asked.

Merlin looked up at her blinking a few times to wet his eyes, and then he sighed and started to stroke his beard.

"It's a book." He quipped with a smirk.

Sascha turned her head to the side, _'Ha. Ha. Ha, very funny,'_ she looked around the library before continuing to talk, _'You know full well what I'm asking about.'_

Merlin let out a chuckle and opened the book, turning the pages slowly.

"The book is called The Tree of Life, and it was given to me when I became Head Druid. I was told that if I ever had question about a person's past or future I was supposed to consult the book. But you never know what it will show you," He gave her a quick look before turning more pages, "I was told that the book will show you what you need to know, rather than what you wish to know… Oh, and there's one more thing too." He stopped at a page with only four symbols, each in black ink.

Sascha shook her body, ruffling her feathers. She suspected she wasn't going to like what her Keeper was going to say next.

He ran his fingers over the symbols, and then started to trace the first one with his index finger. He didn't want it to come to this, he didn't want to do this when he first found her, but now there was very little choice. He had to know what was going on.

"Sascha I need you to get Widow Lucas," He looked up at her, his eyes starting to change colour, "I will become temporally blind for a full day, and so she will need someone to watch over her." He then moved his finger over to the second symbol, continuing the process.

Sascha watched as her friend's eyes slowly change to a milky white colour by the time he traced the last symbol. Merlin leaned back on his chair and put his hands in his lap.

She watched him for a bit, but he did not move. She peered intensely at his chest to see if he was still breathing. His chest slightly inflated and then dropped, he wasn't dead. _Phew._

_'__Keeper I'm going now, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to see if Emma is still asleep and then I'll go get Widow Lucas.'_ She flew down the trap door and into the study.

Emma wasn't there!

She almost panicked, but then remembered that she was in her Keepers room, so she mad a sharp turn down into the room. There on the bed was Emma, and she appeared to be peacefully asleep.

'_At least someone in this house hold is getting forty winks.' _

xxx

Granny sat in the study, sipping tea. She had been at Merlin's for almost an hour, she estimated.

She didn't know how to communicate with Sascha, but she knew enough about the bird's mannerisms to understand a few things. Also Merlin had told her that he would send the raven to her if he was in dire need of her assistance.

Red giggled at the raven as it jumped to and fro. Sascha had accepted that no matter what she thought or how she acted, children would like her. And she secretly liked to hear them laugh.

Emma walked up to Granny, her head slightly tilted down.

"Granny," Emma looked at her through her fringe, while fiddling with her fingers, "May I hold Red?"

Granny put the tea cup down and smiled. "Oh Em, of course you can hold her, here let me help you though." Granny rose from her seat and walked over to Red, who was seated on a woollen throw over.

Sascha saw this as her chance to take a break from being the entertainment and to check on her Keeper. With that she took off up the entrance to the library.

As Emma patiently waited for Granny to get Red ready for her to hold, she watched Sascha take-off up into the library. Oh how she wished for the day to come where she was tall enough to reach the ladder into that mysterious room. She sometimes dreamt she was a bird and the first thing she would do is to explore the library.

"Emma, are you ready dear?"

She turned her head quickly, causing her golden blonde hair to flick about her face. She brushed her hair away while walking towards her and Granny thought Emma was the cutest thing to Red.

Emma was only partially holding onto Red, but she didn't mind, she didn't want to hurt her.

Red reached out and grabbed a lock of Emma's hair, and gave it a strong tug. Emma cried out and tried to pull away, while shoving the baby back to Granny.

"Oh Red! You naughty pup, why must you do that?" She turned to look at Emma, "Don't take it to heart, sweets, she does that with anyone who has long hair. Why she pulled so hard on Merlin's beard once I thought she'd tear it right off his face!" She chuckled in hopes Emma would not cry.

Emma rubbed her head and started to giggle at the thought.

"It's ok Granny, one day she will be bigger and I can play with her then." She approached Granny to look at Red. She reached up and patted the baby.

"Yes Emma, one day both of you are going to big enough to cause all sorts of chaos. But for now, Merlin and I will enjoy the quiet times." She shot Emma a toothy grin. Then bent down and placed Red back on the throw over, and went to sit down to drink the rest of her tea.

xxx

Sascha landed on the desk top to look at her Keeper. He was still in a trance-like-state. She then she hopped a little closer to him because she could have sworn she heard him whisper something.

xxx

Merlin was in complete darkness, he lifted his arms up to see if they were still attached to his body, but still there was only darkness. Then there was a pin-prick of light in front of him. It slowly started to get larger the more he stared at it.

The closer or larger, Merlin wasn't sure which, but the great the light became the brighter it shined. He was squinting now, trying to see what was out there.

"_MIMIR, WHY HAVE YOU COME TO ME?_"The voice from the beyond boomed.

Merlin did not understand the question, because, firstly his name was not Mimir, and secondly the voice had greeted him with some familiarity. He was sure that he had never used the book before, how could this mystery voice from beyond know him already?

"I am Merlin, and I wish to know the child, who is under my care, about her past." He answered.

The air around him became thick, and he was finding it hard to breathe. Then the space around him started to shake, and he felt his body slowly melt away, it was the strangest thing he had experienced since that time he accidentally picked the wrong mushrooms for a pie.

"_FIRST YOU MUST REMEMBER, TO UNDERSTAND ANOTHER._" The voice came more from with inside Merlin than around him. He felt like he was truly losing his mind.

xxx

Odin paced back and forth in the court yard. He was not going to sit by and allow the Gods of the West and South take the entire planet. He was here first and yet he was gracious enough to share it in the first place, truly they had become greedy.

He knew the key to victory was to drink from the Well of Knowledge, he had to ensure his deities future, and the future of the mortals.

He made his way down to where his uncle watched over the well.

Merlin could feel himself slowly coming back together, but this time he was more of an observer than a participator, he knew right then that he was rewatching something from his past… His past life.

"Dear uncle, Keeper of the Well of Knowledge, I am ready to make the sacrifice to drink from it." Odin stride towards Merlin and slapped a hand on his shoulder. Merlin saw his hand do the same to Odin's shoulder.

"Dear nephew, I knew this day would come, here let me preform the deed, and drink deep in our hour of need." Merlin noticed that his voice was older, if that was possible, and deeper, it sounded more, Godly?

Suddenly Merlin pulled out a dagger from his waist and placed his other hand onto Odin's face. Merlin was at a loss for words, all he could do is watch. He moved his hand to the right side of Odin's face, and then stopped.

"Odin, which eye should I take?"

"Take my left, Mimir."

Merlin gasped. This is why he had been addressed to that name before, but before he could think on it any longer, he watched himself dig the left eye out of Odin's socket. He couldn't look away either, for his past self hadn't. Merlin wasn't sure if he could go on.

Odin yelled out, but did not pull away, and when the eye had been taken out, Merlin noticed that the socket healed over almost instantly.

Then there was a flash of light and he felt like he was being spun around. He once more felt himself return to the body of Mimir. He was now in a field, and there were bodies of the dead all around him. He was in the middle of a battle.

Thunder clapped and lighting skewered the sky, he heard men and women screaming off in the distance. There was clashing of metal on metal and the beating of hooves, utter chaos all around him and yet he was not filled with fear. Merlin watched, as he ran towards a female warrior, who had red hair and teal coloured eyes.

"Scathach, have you seen Frigg?" He watched as she sliced a creature across its belly, causing it's innards to spill out. Merlin felt sick, how much more of this could he take?

She spun around, blood smeared on her face and across her battle armour.

"She was supposed to be with the Valkyries."

"I was just with them, and I can't find her anywhere, Odin asked me to watch over her."

She smirked at him, then in a split second swung her body around and threw her sword to kill a warrior that had been coming towards them.

"Okay old man, let's find her together," She looked around and found another sword, then raised it above her head and cried, "ON WARD!"

Merlin saw a flash of light, like before, and now familiar to this scenario, he knew that he was jumping from one memory to another.

When he could see again, he was bent down over the body of the woman he had named Scathach, she was gravely wounded, he had his hands over the gash trying to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Hah, it's a good day to die in battle, I shouldn't hope for a better end." She coughed and blood splatter down on her chin.

"I can grant you a second chance at life Scathach, please let me do it, I can't bear to see my dear friend go." He could feel a single tear drop away from his eye.

"You're a fool to think I would take your offer Mimir…" She looked away from him.

"No, you're the fool," He chanced one hand to turn her face back to him, "_Please_, let me do it, let me give you a second chance at life."

"I don't want to become an animal!" She flicked her head away from his hand. This caused her to cough up more blood.

Merlin started to piece things together, he could half guess what was going to happen next.

"I won't let you die, I will give you a second life, and then I will restore you to your old self, this I swear." He lifted both of his hands and clapped them together, once, twice, thrice. And with a brilliant burst of black smoke his friend had been turned into a raven.

_Sascha? _Merlin had figured that his raven companion was more than just an above average bird. When he thought about it, she never aged, as he grew older, she on the other hand remained the same age. He just assumed that because she was bounded to him, she would die when he did. But now this changed everything, she was cursed.

The raven looked up at him, but then quickly started to cry out, flapping its black wings furiously.

"Come now Scathach, it's not all that bad." He smiled at her, but it immediately fell from his face when he saw a shadow fall upon him. He turned his head to see who or what it was. But before he could draw another breathe, his neck was met with a very sharp sword.

Merlin screamed, as he was taken back to complete darkness. He had just watched himself die. All he wanted to do was escape this nightmare, enough was enough.

"_MIMIR, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO RETURN._" Came the booming voice Merlin first heard, before his flash backs.

xxx

Merlin's eyes started to return to his original colour, and Sascha was fully aware of this. She moved ever so slightly forward to look at him.

"Aaaahhh!" Merlin sprung back to life, his arms flying out to grab the corners of the desk.

Sascha cawed in surprise to her Keepers sudden outburst. She almost toppled off the desk.

Merlin's chest rose and fell as if he had been running this entire time, he gasped for breath and tried to settle himself. He leaned in to the desk, placing his head on the surface.

_'__Keeper?' _Sascha dared and went closer to him, she looked at his face. His appearance now seemed to make look older than before, '_Are you back now?'_

"Scathach?!" Merlin asked. Confusion spreading across his face.

The raven bobbed her head from side to side, '_No Keeper, it's me, Sascha.'_

Merlin lifted his head off the desk and reached out to touch the raven. His fingers lightly touched her head, and then he used his whole hand to stroke her body.

Sascha remained completely still. She thought that he had finally lost his marbles.

"Oh my friend, I have much to tell you. But, you must not breathe a word of this to anyone. This has to stay our secret." Merlin's face went from warm and loving, to cold and serious in a matter of seconds.

_Yep, he's lost his marbles._ She nodded at him anyhow. Suddenly Sascha realised that her Keeper was no longer blind.

'_Wait, you're supposed to be blind!_'

Merlin blinked at her. He leaned back into his chair and rubbed his eyes, she was right, he wasn't blind.

"I guess I was exempted from the price…" He looked back at Sascha.

"I think I use to be a God." He deadpanned. "And I think Emma may have been one too."

Sascha let out a whistle. _Forget the marbles, he's lost the whole bag._

* * *

**Thank you to the people who has reviewed, you have been a huge help. I am very grateful for it.**

**And to the Guest reviewer who is confused about Merlin thinking Emma might be a god/goddess, that will be revealed in the next instalment (Also thank you for pointing out where I should place my notes).**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry this took me longer than usual to put together. **

**Thank you to all who are following this story, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

After Merlin thanked Widow Lucas for coming over and looking after Emma, he explained that he was using a new spell and needed someone to watch Emma in case it didn't work properly. Widow Lucas scolded him for his lack of planning, but was relieved he was fine. She had heard him yell out before but thought it best to remain watching Emma. They had a short conversation, and then Widow Lucas decided she needed to leave and get Red to bed for a nap.

Once she was gone, Merlin decided he would try to temporarily push what had happened to the back of his mind. Emma came first, and he could think about it later that night, when she would be asleep. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain at the back of his eyes. He rubbed his temple, as headache was developing.

Merlin would have to make some tea with a particular sweet-smelling plant he knew that eased pain. He walked to the kitchen to prepare it, but a thought crossed his mind, had Emma eaten? Had Widow Lucas given her something? He was finding it hard to remember what they had spoken about moments ago as the throbbing pain intensified.

"Emma, are you hungry?" He called out to her, his voice starting to tremble from the pain. He had to make the tea immediately. This was getting out of hand.

Emma traipsed around the corner to see Merlin frantically searching in the kitchen draws for something. She answered him, but he did not talk back to her. So she walked up to him, and gently put her hand on his leg. Once again, he did not turn to her. Emma figured she would yank on his dark blue robes instead. That would get his attention she thought.

Merlin feeling the tug turned to look at Emma, and she gasped at him.

"What dear?" he asked while putting a hand on the counter top to steady himself, he tried to ignore her surprise. He gazed back at the last draw, and reached over to pull it open. He finally found the right dried leaves.

Emma pulled on his robes again, indicating she wanted him to crouch down. He slowly turned his head to meet her eyes. He could see Emma was worried, because her little forehead had three neat lines as her brows turned upwards. At seeing this he bent down to be at her height. This was a bad move, because it only made the throbbing worse.

Once Merlin was at her level, Emma raised her arms and clasped her hands around his bony cheeks. "You're eyes are red Opa" she stated with concern.

Merlin placed his hands over hers, and pulled them away gently. "It's okay Emma, I have a headache, nothing to worry about little one" he smiled, to ease her. He thought that the lack of sleep had caused his eyes to become bloodshot. Perhaps it was what also caused the headache?

Meanwhile Sascha was watching the whole scene and decided that her Keeper needed Emma to be distracted. She flew over and pulled on the blonde's tunic to get her to follow. Emma begrudgingly went with the raven, but only when Merlin told her that he was fine and to play with Sascha.

Sascha didn't ask him what was going on, instead she tried to keep Emma entertained so her Keeper had time to sort out whatever was happening to him.

The raven thought over his confession to being Odin's uncle and her, a warrior named Scathach who was changed into a raven. Honestly it was a little too much to take on. He couldn't explain why he thought Emma was possibly a god, well a goddess for that matter, all he kept saying was he could feel it in his bones. He knew Emma was there on the battle field, even though he didn't see her. He couldn't explain it, and that had clearly annoyed him at the time. The raven decided not to push him on the subject, she was just happy he wasn't blind.

Merlin pulled out the dried leaves and threw them into a clay teapot. He poured some water into it, and deciding that he didn't have time to wait to boil the water he willed the water to be heat already.

The world suddenly spun around him, he desperately needed to sit down for a moment. Using magic made it worse, he thought as he found a chair.

"Blast it, I'll heal myself instead" he groaned. He lifted both of his hands and placed them an inch away from his temples. As the spell begun to work, he felt a cool wave roll down from the crown of his head to his shoulders. He would need to rest after using such a draining ability. Magic always came at a price, but thankfully it worked and didn't make it worse.

xxx

Later that afternoon Emma was playing with her doll in the main room. Merlin had made it for her last winter. It was constructed of old cloth and stuffed with goose feathers. He had sewed a smiling face on it and even made a little brown dress that could be removed. It wasn't the most beautiful thing but Emma adored it. He loved to see her smile, it filled him with pride.

Sascha was playing with her also, pretending to have a conversation with the doll. The raven croaked and clicked at it, and Emma pretended the doll was speaking back. Merlin appreciated these moments where they both got along and didn't clash.

As Emma was clearly busy playing, he figured he had time to sit down in his comfy chair near the fireplace to rest his eyes. He just needed a quick nap, and he knew Emma would wake him if she needed something. He had told her that she was allowed to disturb him if he had dozed off, but only if she needed his attention.

Merlin had managed to keep the storming headache at bay, but he was unsure when it would return. He hoped that the healing spell had done the trick, but before it had a chance to retune, it would be best to rest and allow the body to heal naturally first.

He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of caws and giggles. He tried to stay alert, but felt himself slip into darkness.

xxx

"_Myrddin?_" a female voice called out to Merlin.

The wizard slowly became aware that someone was speaking to him, but had addressed him but another title, a title he was not fond of. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. The wizard was about to call out to the voice, but it spoke again.

"_Myrddin Wyllt get up and open your eyes_" she commanded in a gentle tone.

Merlin felt himself sit up and then his eyes fluttered open. He presumed he was still asleep and this was a dream, because as he looked around he found that he was in a field of wheat. He was sure he had never left his home… suddenly his mind panicked as he thought of Emma, but reassured himself this _had_ to be a dream, and she was fine. He was not uncustomed to lucid dreaming. You just had to remain in control.

He squinted against the light of the sun as it radiated down on him. He lifted his arm to shield his eyes and spoke back in an angry tone, "Who is it that dares insult me with such a false title?"

Merlin could remember the name being given to him when he left the courts of the Northern Kingdom, refusing to be a part of the council. Those crack-pots had no idea what true madness looked like.

The voice laughed at his outburst and stood over him, which blocked the sun's rays from blinding him. He looked up at the woman's silhouette, and a hand appeared before him.

He reached out and took her hand, and as he was helped lifted up his eyes bludged at the sight. "Emma?" the name slipped out of his mouth before he had time to think.

She laughed at him again and patted his shoulder. "_Oh no, I am not Emma_" she replied. "_It is I, Frigg, the All Mother_", she paused and looped her arm around his, "_But I go by Freyja these days_" she pulled his arm to guided him as they started to walk through the wheat field, the sun now at their backs.

He stopped and studied her closely. She smiled at him, but did not pull away, or ask him what he was doing. The woman had long golden blonde hair, crystal blue eyes and wore a simple white gown which partly hid an athletic frame underneath.

"No, you're not Emma, but you could pass as a relative" he returned his arm and let her guide him on. He oddly felt at ease in her presence. Perhaps she wasn't a dream… maybe. Merlin had no idea where they were headed, or why a Goddess would even appear to him in a field of wheat, this was truly surreal.

"_Merlin please know this is not your mind playing tricks on you, it is really I, Freyja_" she turned her head to look at the Druid, but still continued to walk, "_I had to wait until you read from the book before I could appear before you, I needed you to be more open first_"

Merlin had a hundred questions enter his mind, but which one should be first. He decided to go with the obvious nonbelief question first, pure doubt.

"My lady, I do not wish to offend you, but I can't be sure this is not just a dream"

Freyja pulled her arm away causing Merlin to stop and watch her. She took a few steps ahead of him, and then turned around and folded her arms across her chest.

"_I have precious little time to explain everything to you, so I haven't got the luxury to prove anything, Druid_" her tone turned serious, "_Listen to me very carefully, the child you have in your possession did not come by you by pure chance, it is fated, I have made it so_" she took a step closer to him and continued,"_And_ _I assure you, that I will appear to you again when the time is right, when she must start her destiny as saviour._"

Merlin became very aware of the change in the environment around him as Freyja talked. The sun disappeared behind darkening clouds, the fields were starting to wither, and he felt a chill swept through as the temperature dropped. The whole mood changed as her words became dire.

"What?" he asked out of pure confusion. But quickly recovered and decided to ask something of greater importance, his mind now clearing. "No, wait, who is she, who is Emma?"

Freyja smiled at him bleakly, "_She was once a Valkyrie, which became impure…_" She turned away from Merlin and looked out at the storming clouds, watching the lightning strike not far off from them. She moved back to face him and placed her hand on his arm, "_Her name was Hladgudr Svanhvit_" Freyja's expression tensed a little at the memory, "_Hladgudr became mortal, but I allowed her to fight that day, the day when we, the Gods of this realm, waged war on each other. As you can guess, she was killed and was brought back into a new life, like yourself_"

Merlin placed his hand on Freyja's, he wasn't sure why he was comforting her, but his intuition told him to do so. "Freyja why were we brought back?" he questioned.

A tear fell from her cheek and she wiped it away before answering. "_The Norns revealed to me the fate of the war, of what was to happen in the aftermath_" she looked dolefully into his eyes,"_Did you even wonder once, why you don't remember seeing Odin on the battle field? Why I was there and He was not? Why he asked you to watch over me, instead of doing that Himself?_"

Merlin frowned at the question. He tried to remember his flashback, and knew she was right, Odin hadn't been there. He opened his mouth to ask her why, but Freyja continued.

"_He drank from the well, the well you were watching. He found out which side would win. And instead of staying, Odin left on Sleipnir to another realm_" Freyja's hand tightened around Merlin's forearm, "_He left us, He left us to die!_" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Merlin tugged at Freyja's hand, trying to get her to loosen the grip on him. He didn't mind she was venting her anger, she clearly had every right to be furious, but he didn't want to be subjected to it physically.

The clouds above them were almost black, no rain had fallen but there was plenty of lightning and thunder. The booming sound sent small burst of panic through him.

Merlin concluded that Freyja's mood is what affected the environment, and in that moment he wished he was dreaming. "Freyja, please calm down" he hoped his passive tone would subconsciously influence her mood.

"_But I stayed and fought, I knew we would lose, but I stayed,_" she drifted out of the memory and noticed Merlin was pulling on her hand. She immediately let go, and shot him an apologetic look.

The weather cleared slightly as Freyja took a deep breath and spoke again, "_Hladgudr, no, Emma is our last hope. She is the one that will bring peace to both sides. I asked the Norns if there was any other way out of the situation to come, and they always said the fallen Swan was the solution._"

"I'm sorry of my ignorance Freyja, but I still don't understand what you mean by future disaster, surely the war was the worst of it?" He tried to ignore the rising wind.

"_The Norns said that in the Runes they saw a greater conflict was to come, but there was hope. I honestly had no idea what they meant, and so they allowed me to see the Runes for myself_" Freyja stared at Merlin, a loud thunder clap vibrated around them.

Merlin jolted from the sound, but held himself firm once again, thinking over everything he was being told. "What did you see, what did the Runes reveal to you?" The wind was becoming stronger, as it howled past him in waves.

"_I saw a great deal, but I know that all I can reveal to you now is that Emma is the fallen Swan and she will need your guidance._" Freyja turned her face towards the sky. Merlin looked up with her, he saw something burst through the stormy clouds and it was heading right for them. "_It appears our time has come to an end, I promise I will see you once more. Look after Emma Swan and teach her all you know Druid_." Freyja had to raise her voice over the wind as she walked towards a clear patch among the completely withered fields.

"Wait, Freyja, I have to ask you something quickly!" he yelled out to her over the wind that seemed to be getting worse by each passing moment. She turned back to him, and he didn't hesitate, "Where's Emma's parents?" he watched the object from the sky come closer and descended near Freyja. It was a chariot being pulled by two massive cats.

"_Not yet Merlin, soon, I promise_" she yelled back, and with that she climbed onto the chariot waving him a goodbye. The two huge beasts took off into the sky and disappeared back into the clouds.

xxx

Merlin had awoken to Emma on his lap, fast asleep. He looked around and saw Sascha on her perch, her head tucked away as she too slept. The house was almost completely dark, indicating it was almost dinner time.

He blinked a few times, and thought over what he had been told. As he pondered he stroked Emma's long blonde hair instead of his beard. This was going to be hard to explain to Widow Lucas the next time she came over for tea, or when he went to visit her. She was the only one he confined in, and he knew he could trust her, other than Sascha of course.

He scooped up the child and carried her to the bed in his study. Emma hadn't woken him, so he suspected that she wasn't hungry for dinner, but maybe he should wake her so she did. He wasn't sure what to do, as his mind was too muddled at the moment.

After he tucked Emma into bed he went to his room and tried to rest.

xxx

Merlin wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, but something had pulled him from it. As he slipped out of slumber the noise came again.

_Thud_

Merlin's eyes shot open and gazed out into the blackness of night. His ears pricked to hear what was making the noise. The light from the moon had stopped conveniently by the edge of his bed, beyond that was darkness. He desperately tried to think logically.

Perhaps it had been Sascha or Emma that made the strange noise?

Suddenly something cold touched the tip of his nose.

"SHITE!" He yelled while flinging himself out of the bed, across the small room, and backed himself against the wall.

He flung his hand up and conjured a fireball. A brilliant burst of amber light surrounded the room as he held the fireball above his head.

Emma was standing completely still next to his bed. She was staring at the fireball in his palm. Her bottom lip slightly quivering.

Merlin lowered his arm almost immediately, and the angry look on his face fell away. As he brought his hand down to his side the flame changed into an orb of light.

Taking a few nervous steps forward to reach her, he lowered himself down on one knee to be more at her height.

The wizard put a hand on the child's shoulder, giving it a gentle rub. "Emma, what, what were you thinking?" Merlin furrowed his eye brows at her, not out of anger, but out of concern.

"Opa…" she whispered.

He rubbed her shoulder again. "Emma?"

She shot him a look of shock. He recoiled slightly, but kept his hand on her.

"Opa, you said a bad word." She shook her head at him and brushed his arm away.

Merlin huffed. Here he was almost in a state of panic, and she was giving him lip. He stood up, and adjusted his undertunic.

"Honestly Em, if you sneak up on people, touching their face in the dark, what do you expect?" he retorted sounding slightly annoyed. When he was done with his tunic he sat himself on the edge of the bed. He looked at her, and then slapped a hand down on his lap. "Come here, and tell me why you are up at this hour sneaking around"

She climbed up on his bony legs and nestled up against his chest. "I, I don't want to sleep in the stoody anymores" She gazed up at him, her eyes becoming wet.

Merlin mentally corrected what Emma had said, and cursed himself for caring more about grammar than the child. He pulled her close.

He turned to his night stand, and looked at the candle sitting atop. He focused on the wick, willing it light. The light orb faded away within his palm as the candle was lit.

Emma dug her head into his chest and used his beard to cover the rest of her exposed face. He held her with both arms, and then slowly rocked back and forth. She sobbed into him.

"There, there, my little one" He tried to sooth her fear. It always broke him when she cried.

Several minutes passed before Emma wiped her face against his undertunic and softly pulled away. Merlin rolled his eyes. He couldn't remember a time when she wouldn't always wipe her nose against him. But he pushed the thought away, and stroked her hair.

She looked at him, and reached out to stroke his beard. He smiled at her fascination with his hairy face. He remembered how she loved tugging at it when she was a baby… and so does Red. His jaw twitched from the memory.

"Will I grow hair like you?" Her eyes slowly met his.

He chuckled, and pinched her check. Emma smacked at his hand, she disliked him doing that.

"I hope not" He chuckled again. "No Em, you will not grow hair on your face, you're a girl"

Her tiny eyebrows started to scrunch together. "Why don't girls get beards?"

Merlin straightened himself up and coughed. "Uh, um, well… You see, hmmm" his mind raced at the question. What if this conversation goes onto him having to explain the anatomical differences of females and males? _I'm not ready for this_, he thought.

He abruptly stopped himself from over thinking it, from blowing the question out of proportion. She was five for Odin's sake.

He tried to stroke his bearded, but banged his hand down on Emma's. "Oh sorry," he cleared his throat again, "Well, girls and boys are different, and so different things will happen as them each as they grow older…" Why was it suddenly getting very hot in the room?

"Okay" Emma said as she rubbed her eyes. Merlin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

She stroked his beard once more and then got up off his lap. She walked around to the other side of the bed, pulled back the blankets and crawled on top the mattress.

"Night Opaaaa" She yawned, pulling the blankets over her and turning to face away from the candle light.

Merlin let out a sigh, he couldn't send her back out to sleep alone, but the bed wasn't made for two people. He would just have to endure the lack of sleep. Emma had a habit of slapping, kicking, and hording the entirety of the blankets to herself. It had been the reason why he moved her to sleep in the study, that and she was getting older and needed her own space.

He leant over and blew out the candle. As he closed his eyes, and laid back to pull the sheets up to his chest, he heard Emma shift to face him.

"Opa, just so you know, I didn't touched you're face" Then she turned back over.

Merlins eyes shot open. He turned to look at her silhouette in the moon light. She wiggled under the blankets.

"Just joking, I touched your nose" she blurted out and giggled throwing the blanket over her head to hide from him.

Merlin ground his teeth together with a mischievous smirk sliding across his face "Why you little," he leaned over and tried to tickle her through the blankets, "Don't do that to me Emma!"

xxx

The mornings were becoming increasingly colder, signalling in the time of winter. Merlin knew he had to get enough fire wood to last the coming season. He would have to go and see Widow Lucas in the coming days, to ask if Graham had returned. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Emma snoring next to him.

Turning to his side he saw she had one leg hanging out, off the side of the bed. A smile crept across his face. Emma had her _cute_ moments, and then she had her _Emma_ moments. He leaned over and tucked her leg back under the blankets. She did not stop snoring however.

He put on his slippers and stretched. His body was sore, it was always sore. Welcome to being old.

He shuffled out his room and headed towards the kitchen.

Sascha flew by, nearly smacking him in the head. "Hey, do you mind?" Merlin grumbled. She croaked back at him and flew out the window.

Merlin entered the kitchen, pulled out a frying pan and stared at it. He tossed the pan on the table and plopped himself onto a chair. He rested his elbows on the table and put his head into his hands. Yesterday came flooding back to him… Emma had been a Valkyrie… Did Freyja allow her to retain those abilities that Valkyries possessed? Where did he start to find out this sort of stuff?

Moments later, Emma marched in, her baby blanket hung from her shoulders like a cape. She pulled a seat out and climbed up. Slowly turning her head as she eyed the frying pan and then Merlin, completely unsure what was going on.

Merlin parted his fingers that were covering his face to look back at her. "What do you want for breakfast? I'm too tired to think of something." He partly mumbled the question into his hands.

Emma mimicked him, putting her elbows on the table, and sinking her head into her hands. "Hmmmmmmm" she pondered loudly. Merlin raised a single eye brow at her.

Sascha swooped back into the house and perched herself on the spine of the remaining chair. She shook her body, trying to shed the cool morning air from her feathers.

Emma slapped her hands down onto the table, making both Merlin and Sascha jump. But before she answered, somebody had knocked on the front door.

All three faces turned towards the noise, Merlin rose, and walked to door to unlatch the lock. He gave Emma and Sascha a quick look, and then opened it.

"Ahh, Merlin, long time no see" Graham slapped the wizards shoulder, causing him to sway slightly. Merlin recovered and smiled back, then nodded for him to come in. He could have sworn Widow Lucas read his mind about needing to see Graham, did she know him that well now?

Graham entered the house, with a mottled light grey wolf in toe.

He shot Emma a friendly smile and took off his gloves. When the gloves were tucked into his belt he looked back at Merlin. "Granny told me that you needed firewood?"

Merlin nodded at him, "How about we go to my study and discuss things there," He placed his hand on Graham's shoulder to lead him away, "Sascha, watch Emma please." Then Merlin and Graham disappeared.

Emma looked at Sascha, but Sascha did not look at her, she was busy watching the wolf. Emma followed the raven's line of sight and watched the wolf as well.

It shook itself and edged closer to the kitchen, it was heading towards where Emma was seated. It lowered its head slightly so it wouldn't appear to be threating. But regardless of this the little blonde whimpered and squirm in her seat.

Sascha picked up almost instantly on Emma's uneasiness and intervened in the wolf's approach. She cawed at him and spread her jet black wings out to shield Emma. The wolf stopped dead in its tracks. She cawed again and flicked her wings, trying to get the wolf to step back. Instead it sat down and hung its head to the side in puzzlement.

The raven lowered her wings, but kept her chest puffed out. '_Good boy, you stay there._' She cawed.

Sascha turned around and tugged at Emma's thick winter tunic trying to get her to follow. Emma caught on and walk beside the raven.

Sascha side-step the beast, while making sure Emma was close to her. If the wolf was going to go anywhere near the kid, it would have to go through her first.

The wolf now bored with the duo, decided to lie down and make itself comfortable. He sniffed and licked his snot, then closed his eyes to take a nap.

xxx

Merlin closed the door behind him. Graham sat down on a stool, and watched Merlin stroke his beard.

"I need to know," Merlin walked over to his chair, sitting down "I need to know how the trade is going with the border, is it really about trade, or something else?" After Freyja's visit he needed to learn more about what was happening politically with the lands. He had to be tactical again, and this is why he left the council in the first place. He simply became tired of the constant games.

Graham cleared his throat before answering "Well, it all appears fine, all correct on the books." He started to chew the side his mouth. "But," He shot Merlin a look of concern, creasing his forehead and leaned in, to continue, "I believe they know about the tablet," he rubbed his stubble with his hand, "Merlin they know about the tablet!" He said again emphasising his worry.

Merlin rhythmically continued to stroke his beard. He had suspected that this day may come, that someone would try to search for it. Instinctively Merlin went to grab his pipe from its pouch, but it was not there.

He stood up, deciding to pace instead, "When did you first suspect this?" Merlin knew the trade agreement failed a number of times over the years, but this was the year it had been successfully implemented. He had also suspected it was a cover for the Southern side. A, keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer sort of thing.

Graham fidgeted on the stool, and then stood up "It was when a person named Mulan turned up last month, she wasn't asking about the shipments or the cargo that arrived. She was acting strange and asking a lot of question about a certain place in the Northern lands," he reached out and held Merlin still, "I sent someone to watch her, to collect information, and they told me she searching for a temple," he breathed in, "She's looking for The Temple of Lugh."

Merlin smirked. "Oh they think it was placed there?" he slapped his hand down on Graham's shoulder. Merlin's body eased at the good news, "They aren't even headed in the right direction!" Merlin threw his hands up mocking the whole situation. Letting a chuckle escaped his throat.

"Merlin, even if the tablet isn't there, she could find Balmung." Graham stared at the wizard, trying to get him to take this bit of information more seriously.

Merlin was about to say something, but they were interrupted by a small knock at the door.

Graham sat back down on the stool and turned his head away to indicate he would speak about it more once Merlin dealt with disturbance.

Merlin walked to the door and opened it. He suspected it was Emma, but he couldn't think of what she may want.

Emma peered up at Merlin, she had her hands on her stomach "I'm hungry Opa" she said as she rubbed her belly.

Merlin slapped his hand against his face. He internally berated himself, he was being completely careless. He bent down to Emma's height and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Just this once, I will use my magic to make you breakfast" He smiled at her. He knew she would get a kick out of it. He had been teaching her the rules of conjuration, and when it should be used. He wanted her to be responsible first, and then he would teach her how to cast spells… That's if she could… could ex-Valkyries cast spells? Was she an ex-Valkyrie or just a reborn Valkyrie? He had seen by her aura that she was had potential. Merlin shook himself from wondering off into needless thoughts. He looked back at Emma. _Focus Merlin!_

She was grinning from ear to ear. So he pulled her little hands out to get her to cup them, and then he whispered something she wouldn't understand. The air around her hands started to change into a white smoke that swirled around. Her eyes grew wider at the sight, and then the smoke dissipated leaving behind a bowl of oatmeal. The smile on Emma's face dropped instantly.

She frowned at Merlin, clearly not happy with his choice for breakfast.

"Emma, dear, you need something healthy in the morning," he paused to contemplate an idea, "I tell you what, if you be good while Graham is here, then I will give you a piece of chocolate later" He internally hoped she would fall for the innocent bribe.

She pulled her lips the side and hummed at the offer, then looked back at him and smiled. "Okay!" She answered, and then turned around and headed for kitchen, but stopped.

Merlin watched her turn back around and head towards him. "I'm scared of the wolf, will, will he eat me?"

Graham laughed at hearing this, he got up from the stool and walked towards the door way. "Don't worry Emma, he's a good wolf, he only eats bad people" Graham came up behind Merlin to look at her.

Sascha cawed at the statement. She didn't trust anything that spooked Emma.

Graham decided to take matters into his own hands. He motioned to Merlin for him move out of the way, and then he walked over to his loyal animal friend.

The wolf pricked its ears and then lifted its head to look at him.

Graham crouched down and scratched the wolf behind its ear. He turned to look at Emma and asked if she would like to pat him. She hesitated at first, but then her curiosity won out. She placed her bowl down on the ground and gradually walked over to them.

Graham showed her where his friend liked to be stroked the most, and then let her go for it. She gently put her small hand on the wolf's back and let it slide down its fur.

Merlin watched her slowly become for confident with her actions. He made a mental note to store this moment away in his memory. It was delightful to see her discover something new. It made him treasure things in his life even more.

Honestly how long would she stay unaware of her destiny, how long did he have to teach her, to guide her? He worried for a moment that he wouldn't be good enough, that he would fail her. But he knew that if he doubted himself, he would fail her. Thankfully he knew that he wasn't alone, he had friends to help him along the way.

Sascha puffed herself out at the site. Merlin walked up near her and whispered, "Jealous?"

Sascha snapped her head at him, fluffed herself out and croaked. '_Hardly, I just worry about her, that's all_' the raven looked back at the trio.

Merlin raised an eye brow at his friend's confession. He was going to probe her about it, but then decided that he enjoyed knowing both his foster child and his companion had bonded.

The wizard then had another thought cross his mind. He had to work out how to reverse the spell on Sascha, so that she may return to being human once more. Truly he had his work cut out for him.

* * *

**Next chapter you'll get to see fragments of how things are going for Regina!**

**Once again thank you to all who continue to read this.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

"Regina! Pay attention." Maleficent's voice echoed off the ash coloured walls of the training room. The sorceress strutted over to the brunette and slammed her gnarled staff down to emphasis the seriousness of the command. Regina slightly cringed, and was scolded for it.

The princess thought everything she did was wrong, and no matter how hard she tired, she was never good enough. She chanced a glance at her mother in the upper circle. But her mother did not acknowledge her. Instead Cora continued to look on expressionless.

Cora's motto echoed inside the brunette's head, _Love is weakness. _Regina suddenly felt as cold as the stone walls of the castle.

The Queen had employed Maleficent to teacher Regina about the Arcane Arts. It was important that the Princess, the future Queen of the Western Kingdom, learnt how to hold her own. Regina could be taught how to be proper, how to control the court, to be a royal. But magic, that was true power, and it was a tool Cora zealously used.

"Concentrate on the target." Maleficent turned to face the mannequin, "And try to throw it across the room, using one hand this time."

Regina nodded and locked her eyes on the battered subject, its limbs barely hanging on, showing the countless hours of training it had endured. She flicked out her hand, willing it to crash against the wall, allowing anger to fuel her magic.

"Good Regina, very good." Maleficent gave her a dark smile, "My dear, you're only fifteen and contain such a raw power. Why I wouldn't be surprised if you supersede me in a decade." The sorceress said with a hint of venom.

Regina didn't smile back, she felt empty. All she wanted was her mother to notice her, like her loving father did.

"Thank you Maleficent, I hope to live up to your expectations." Regina's voice was distant, as the sentence fell from her lips.

xxx

Tink prepared the princess' chemise and waited for her to return. It had been a long day of stress, making sure that she did everything perfectly. The petite woman desperately wanted to make a good impression. The other handmaidens told her that Regina was very fussy, about everything, and would probably have her replaced by the end of the month.

She peered around the room, mentally ticking off everything she had done, making sure she had not missed a single thing. But before she could finish the list, Regina strode through the dark oak door. The princess walked towards the bed then turned to look at Tink with a sullen expression.

In that moment Regina took the time to look over her new handmaiden. The woman was taller than herself, perhaps because of the age difference. She wore a simple brown dress with a white coif on her head. Regina could tell by a loose strand of hair it was blonde and then she looked at the woman's eyes. They were a dark green, nervous.

Tink was watching the princess eye her over, and it made her anxiety climb to newer heights. She couldn't remember what she was meant to do.

"Well, am I expected to change myself?" The princess' voice was cold and authoritative for a fifteen year old. Tink was three years older than her, but she felt ages younger by the way the royal acted.

Tink jolted and quickly moved towards the princess to gingerly remove her elegantly detailed dress. "How was the lesson, your Grace?" The handmaiden did not look the princess in the eyes as she spoke, focusing instead on the task at hand.

"That is none of your concern, -" The brunette stopped and bitterly looked at the woman, "What is your name?" she deadpanned.

"My name is Tinker Bell, but everyone calls me Tink" the handmaiden said with a bright smile.

Regina sneered at the nick name and turned away from her, lifting her arms and waited for the woman to continue her work.

Tink tried not to take the princess' cold demeanour to heart. She was sure underneath it all Regina was a very kind and warm person… somewhere, very deep, down inside.

Once the handmaiden was done changing her clothes over, Regina ordered her to leave. The princess refused Tink to pull back the beds covers, and so doing as she was told Tink left the room and closed the door quietly behind her. The handmaiden walked off down the hallway to take the dirty garments to the lower part of the castle.

Regina slid into the large bed. The coolness of the sheets caused her skin to form rows of tiny bumps, and she rubbed her arms to return some of the lost heat. She waved her hand and the candles extinguished. With a sigh, she slowly sunk into the mattress and closed her eyes.

"_Hello Regina._"

She sat up with a shock, the candles in the room burst alight, and she scanned the room. But no one was there. Had she dreamt the voice? Regina was sure she had not drifted off. No, someone was surely in the room.

"Show yourself!" Regina said darkly. But as she turned to scan the room again, her eyes stopped on the balcony doors. They were open and a ghostly white falcon was perched on the railing, she thought it strange sight. Perhaps a gust of wind blew them open.

The falcon remained perfectly still while it stared at her. Regina felt very uneasy and silly at the same time. She thought her mother would surely laugh at her for being frightened by a bird.

"Shoo! You disgusting creature" the princess waved her arms about hoping it would simply fly away. She didn't want some bird potentially soiling her nice balcony.

The falcon turned its whole body towards her and bobbed its head about. The brunette knew from its body language that the falcon was about to let itself into her room. This was worse, she thought, the creature would soil her private quarters instead.

Regina stopped waving and gasped as the falcon opened its wings and took off. Instinctively the princess willed the doors to close, and consequently the falcon had zero time to react.

_THUD_

Regina sat quietly, waiting to hear if the creature was still there. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She wasn't malicious. Regina didn't find joy in seeing something hurt or injured.

Perhaps I should go and check on it, she thought. The princess crawled to the end of the bed and grabbed her cloak, it was a cool night, and she wouldn't risk catching a cold over a stupid animal. She threw the cloak around her and stepped towards the balcony.

The doors opened inwards with a flick of her wrist and she bent down to look at the collapsed bundle at the entrance. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached out to touch it.

"_What the fuck is wrong with you?_" The falcon said angrily. Flapping its wings and sitting itself back up.

Regina recoiled her hand instantly and an aggravated look dawned across her face, "How dare you speak to me with such a foul mouth, I -" Regina stopped mid-sentence at the realisation she was talking to a bird.

Her mind searched for any logical reason to why a scenario like this would be taking place, and she had only one conclusion. "Maleficent if this is a test, I do not think my mother would approve of you coming to my room -"

"_Quite!_" The falcon shrieked, fixing its dark expressionless eyes on the brunette.

"_I did not come here to be treated like this. I can't believe you're…_" but the bird paused, shook it's head and then continued, "_I am here to give you a message._" It ruffled it feathers, trying to fix them.

Regina knelt and waited to hear what the message was. The falcon lifted a taloned foot and with its beak removed a small silver cylinder. It tossed it towards her and waited for the brunette to pick it up. The falcon had to wait for her to take the message before it could leave.

"Wait, what is this?" Regina picked it up and eyed the cylinder carefully.

"_The message is contained inside._" The falcon flew up onto the railing and turned its head back to her, "_Under no circumstances are you allowed to reveal this to anyone, it's for your eyes only, do you understand?_"

Regina could tell by the gravity of the bird's tone that this was not a joke. As queer as the whole thing seemed, Regina would take it seriously.

"I understand, I promise to show it to no other." And why would she, who would care? Not my mother, she thought. Perhaps her father would, but she had to have some secrets from him.

The falcon nodded at her and then took off soaring into the night sky.

The princess stood, closed the balcony doors, and went back to bed. She sat quietly turning the cylinder between her fingers. There was no clear indication on how it should be opened. But when you have magic, you didn't need to worry about a closed capsule.

She place it on top of the bed and passed her hand over it, the top of the cylinder popped open and she hastily picked it up to peer inside. Upon discovering that her fingers were too big to pull out the piece of paper she shook it instead. The note fell out and a wave of anticipation hit her, she quickly unrolled it open to see what was written.

"Well that was a waste of the falcon's time, I can't even read it." She eyed the strange symbols, feeling entirely disappointed. The princess fell back onto the mattress with a huff.

* * *

"Sigel, the Rune of Victory." Emma stared at the letter and then looked back at Merlin to make sure he was still paying attention. He had a tendency to drift off from time to time, she didn't mind, but right now Emma just wanted the damn lesson to be over.

"Yes, and the next one please" He turned a page in his book and glanced back at her.

"It's Peorth, the Rune of Destiny... Oh dear Odin, this is boring!" Emma couldn't go on. She sighed loudly and slammed the book closed. This was enough reading for one day, and she already knew the whole alphabet by heart. Emma softly placed the book on the table, trying not to get into trouble.

"Seriously Opa, why do you test my ability to read the Runes?" She threw her hands up in question, "You do remember I could read them all by the time I was eight?" Then she lowered her hands and glared at him.

Merlin watched her for a moment while closing his book and placing it on the table. He had been warned about the changes in temperament that came with puberty, Widow Lucas made sure he knew all about it, but he could have never prepared for the mood swings that came with it. Not that Emma was difficult, she was pretty good most of the time, but there were moments.

"I get you to practice so it becomes second nature, like breathing." He reached out and collected her book to place it on top of his, "Or whining, in your case." The corner of his lip curled slightly at the dig, knowing she would either retaliate or ignore him. He hoped for the latter. If she did retaliate though, Merlin knew that it would because of what he said, and not her hormones.

Emma rolled her eyes at him while pushing herself away from the table. She rose out of the chair, reached out and snatched the books from the table. Emma shot him one more glare and stomped out of the kitchen. The blonde was not in the mood for banter.

Merlin's smirk turned into a smile. Even when Emma was being defiant she still respected him or at least his things. He knew that if he went to his library later that day, the books would be in the correct shelf, not shoved or bashed, but placed back with care.

The wizard had become worried that Emma may try to tear them apart at one point, only because she had developed a terrible habit of pulling things apart when overcome by frustration. Merlin tried to break the girl out it, but with little success. Perhaps some sort of crafting hobby is what she needed, something that would keep her hands busy. He pondered, and then an idea came to him.

"Emma?" He called out. Merlin heard her trek back to the entrance of the kitchen. She popped her head around the corner and stared at him.

"How about we try something else?" Merlin smiled at her and folded his arms, intrigued to see what her reaction would be to the question.

Emma frowned at him as she tried to think of what he meant by _something else_. A sly smile crossed her face, was this one of his games? In all honesty she enjoyed her grandfather's enigmatical behaviour. It was more exciting than reading dusty old books. Emma gingerly walked back to the kitchen table, but did not sit down.

"Well what is this _something_ you want to try?" She placed the books on the table and mimicked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sascha watched the scene from her perch. The raven looked at her Keeper, who had a goofy smile spread across his face and his arms folded. Then she looked over at Emma, who had a questioning smile across her face and her arms crossed. If Sascha could roll her eyes at them, she would have. The raven tucked its head under a wing, determined to ignore them both.

"I think it's high time I taught you some conjuration, don't you think?" His smile broadened.

Emma's eyes bulged at the suggestion, "Are you serious?" She then placed both hands on the table to hold herself up as she thought over what he would teach her first. The blonde was slack-jawed as she looked back at Merlin. "Please tell me you're not playing a trick on me?"

The wizard laughed at her, but he quickly straightened up. You're the adult here Merlin, he reminded himself.

"I'm absolutely serious about this, no tricks. I think you're ready to learn magic." Merlin tried not to smile, he had to be serious, but Emma's excitement was infectious.

Practising magic can be very dangerous for the unskilled. They would have to start small, something simple, something she could do without harming herself, or him for that matter.

xxx

"How, how could you Opa?" Emma asked Merlin in an indignant voice, "How could you make the one thing I have waited to do for so long this boring?!" Her bright blonde hair bounced as she threw her arms up at him.

The wizard shot her a vacant look. He had enough of her ungrateful attitude. Merlin reached for his pouch to get out his pipe…. But it wasn't there, and he would never get used to it not being by his side.

Merlin rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to teach her how to act properly by example, and he was determined to be a good influence on her.

"Okay Emma, explain to me what exactly do you find boring about this?" He knelt beside her and waved his arm around, pointing to the garden bed. Merlin raised his eyebrows at her in question.

As a Druid he thought planet manipulation was a magnificent thing, watching a budding plant grow under a magical influence was exciting.

He remembered when Emma was six and how she gasped in awe when he brought a flower to bloom. Perhaps that was the problem. Emma wasn't six any more, she was thirteen and he needed to step it up a notch.

Emma watched her grandfather frown as he was lost in his thoughts. She felt a pang of guilt. "Um, I'm sorry Opa, I didn't mean it… I'm tired, I guess." Emma gave him a small smile, hoping he wasn't hurt by her confession. The teen placed her hand on his arm and rubbed it.

Merlin's eyes slowly met hers and he smiled back. "You're right." He stated.

Emma gave him a puzzled look, her hand still on his arm, "Wait, what?"

"I made the mistake of assuming this sort of thing would excite you, let alone challenge you." He placed his hand over hers, and lifted her up to lead them towards the path into the woods.

"Let the real training begin!" Merlin let out a mischievous chuckle and Emma felt like she was going to regret thinking his magic lesson as _boring_.

xxx

Emma watched the flames dance around her finger tips, trying to understand why the fire almost felt heatless against her skin. She'd been shown how to call upon all four elements, but fire was the hardest to conjure, and the teen couldn't understand why.

"Some people are suited to a certain element Emma, take myself for an example." Merlin placed his palm on the stump of the tree he was sitting upon, "I'm more adept with earth."

As Emma watched him the flames on her hand flicked and died. She leaned in to see what he was going to do, but half guessed he would will a plant to grow. The teen had seen him do it a countless amount of times before. It was nothing new to her.

The wizard closed his eyes and his face became stern. Emma saw a small sapling sprouted out of the mossy covered stump and slowly started to grow. After it reached the wizards elbow it gained speed, quickly becoming a juvenile tree.

Merlin had to move off the stump and step back, but he did not stop there. He raised both hands and yelled as the tree ascended with great haste towards the canopy above. It cracked and creaked the larger it became. A trickle of sweat ran down his forehead from the exertion.

Emma's eyes were wide and her mouth gaped slightly when she lifted her head to see the trees limbs burst through the upper foliage. It swayed slightly before coming to a standstill, it was an impressive Hemlock. She knew this because her grandfather had started to teach her about the different flora and fauna of the northern woods.

Off in the distance Emma could hear a variety of birds screeching and chirping, clearly they were annoyed by the disturbance. Emma fully took back her judgement on earth elemental magic being dull, and now could see why her grandfather enjoyed it so much.

Merlin lowered his arms and wiped the sweat from his brow. "You don't have to yell, but I find it helps at times." He chuckled at his confession and looped his thumbs over his belt.

Emma turned to look at him, her mouth still hung slightly open. She was about to say something but Merlin lunged at her and cupped his hand over her mouth, his dark hazel eyes wide. Emma felt a chill of fear run down her back. The wizard slowly turned her around and pulled her back towards his chest. Emma finally saw what spooked her grandfather.

Not far off, beyond an overgrown part of the woods something massive moved. It made an eerie clicking noise and suddenly Emma became aware that she couldn't hear the birds any more.

Merlin kept his hand over Emma's mouth and held her still. He knew exactly what was lumbering not far off and for the first time in a long time he was scared. Merlin was scared of losing Emma. The once orphaned child was his family, regardless of blood, and Merlin would willingly die to protect his granddaughter.

"Emma I want you to run back home, don't turn around, just head straight home." He whispered in her ear with an authoritative tone. Merlin needed Emma to do exactly as he said. He knew if she made it past the stream, just before the path back home, the Stuhac could not follow her. But Merlin wouldn't let it get that far, not if he could stop it.

Emma started to whimper underneath his grip. There were tears at the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over her pale cheeks. Her grandfather was asking her to run, and Emma didn't want to leave him behind.

The creature was getting closer, swaying side to side as it moved. When it passed into streams of light from the gaps in the canopy above, Emma saw why it was making the strange noise. It wasn't clicking, it was snapping, the snapping of bones. The black mass had hundreds of human limbs grabbing and pushing its self towards them. The sight would surely haunt her dreams for years to come.

Merlin wasting no more time swung Emma's body around with his and propelled the teen a few yards away, making sure she landed on her feet.

"RUN EMMA, RUN!" Merlin yelled and turned back to the approaching Stuhac.

Emma chanced a quick glance to see the thing enter the clearing. Her grandfather tactically moved his arms about, making the trees around him lash out and strike at the creature's body causing bits of the human appendages to fall away.

Her mind screamed at her to flee, but her heart ached at the thought of leaving her grandfather behind. Emma hesitated, but Merlin's words loudly reverberated in her head and so she ran.

Emma ran like the wind.

* * *

The heat from the fireplace did little to keep Regina warm as she read a book about the gods of old. Ever since the strange falcon gave her the secret message, Regina had spent much of her free time reading books, a lot of books.

This particular one only spoke of how the mighty Zeus defeated the barbaric outlanders. His army killed many of the enemies best fighters on the day of the Great War, and it even claimed Zeus himself killed Odin and kept his head as a trophy. After the whole ordeal ended, Zeus and his followers left this plane and went back into the heavens above. It was speculated that they no longer wished to return. Instead they had reached a place of real beauty and left this world for the mortals to rule over, never to medal in the humans' affairs again.

Regina reluctantly closed the book and placed it down onto the side table next to her reading chair. The brunette pulled the thick burgundy coloured blanket up to her neck and closed her eyes.

Regina pictured the symbols in her mind, rearranging them about in hopes it would reveal its secrets to her. I bet Maleficent would know, she thought. But Regina had given her word she would let no other see it, and a princess always kept her word.

As the brunette was lost in her thoughts she had not noticed the handmaiden enter the room.

"Princess, it's time." Tink said. She had been ordered to get the princess for supper.

Regina opened one eye and glimpsed at the woman, she closed it and spoke, "I'm not hungry, so please leave me be." She then slightly turned her head away.

Tink pressed her lips tightly together, trying not to say what she really wanted to. She walked further into the room and picked up a few books to pile them neatly on the draw next to the princess' bed. I'm going to make myself useful, she thought. Tink had to prove to Regina that she was worth keeping, not through words, but by actions.

When Tink placed the pile of books onto the draw she noticed a slip of paper out of the corner of her eye. She instinctively reached out to look at it. Tink knew right away what the symbols were.

Regina getting impatient with the handmaidens presence, rose out of her chair to see what she was doing. The brunette gasped at the sight, the handmaiden had the note in her hand, and she had seen it. Regina strode towards the ignorant woman and snatched the note from her hand.

"How dare you touch my things!" Regina seethed at her. The princess tucked the note away into her nightdress, and turned away from her. The brunette's hands were balled into fists as she tried to control her frustration.

"I'm terribly sorry my Lady, I did not mean to pry, I didn't think -" But Tink did not get to finish her sentence.

"That's right, you didn't think, you ignorant girl!" Regina's voice was getting louder with each word. She had to calm down before she brought unwanted attention on herself. The guard posted in the hallway could walk in, and then Regina's mother would find out about her behaviour. A princess never caused a scene.

Tink had to think quickly, she desperately didn't want to be demoted, or worse.

"Please, Princess, I only looked upon the note because I recognised the letters." Tink kneaded her fist into her palm, trying to keep her building anxiety at bay.

Regina stopped and looked at her with a small smile. The brunette had technically not broken her word, as she hadn't shown it to someone, instead it had been pried upon. "Well, what did the note say then?" Regina asked in a delusively kind tone.

"I'm sorry my Lady, I cannot actually read it." Tink wiped her sweaty palms down her plain brown dress and continued, "I only know that it's a rare written language, used by a few of the northern people."

Regina gave her a disappointed glare and rolled her eyes, "Leave." She flicked her wrist at the handmaiden as a final indication she was done talking to her.

Tink bit the corner of her lip in desperation. She needed to impress the princess, and as her eyes fell on the pile of books she had a brilliant idea. "My Lady, I could acquire a book on the language of Runes for you?" Tink held her breath, waiting to see if the princess would approve.

The princess did not turn to look at her. Instead Regina nodded in agreement, "Then _acquire_ this book for me by at least the end of this week."

Regina went back to the reading chair and sat down. The princess did not say anything else as she stared into the fire.

Tink let out the breath she had held in and smiled. Now all she had to do was find a bookstore inside the city that sold a book on the alphabet of Runes. Her expression changed from pleased to distraught as she realised that it may be impossible to find one.

* * *

Sascha looked out at the clear blue sky from the window above the door. She was enjoying the peace and quiet of the house, and after having a much needed nap the raven thought a leisurely fly around the woods would be a good finish to her day.

Her Keeper and Emma had been gone for a few hours, but she was sure they would be back any moment, and the sooner she was gone the better chance she had of avoiding them. Not that Sascha didn't like them, it's just she liked to have time to herself…. She didn't have to think about what it was like to be a human, when she wasn't around them.

The raven couldn't remember being human, so she guessed she couldn't miss what she didn't know. But if the raven could be a human, again, even for one day, Sascha would.

She shook her head to scatter the thought away. Enough self-loathing, time for some sightseeing and with that the raven took off towards the sky.

xxx

Emma's lungs burned as she desperately tried to breathe new air into them. She had been running for what felt like forever, but once she reached the stream the teen decided to take a quick break. Emma had to before she fainted from the pain in her chest.

She propped herself on a large rock, flinching at every sound she heard. Emma's mind raced from fear, the thing could be out there still, it could… It could have killed her grandfather. Emma started to cry.

The teen brought her hands to her face trying to cover the shame. Emma clenched her teeth tightly together to fight back the tears and willed herself to stop crying, it wasn't going to help the situation. Emma Swan was strong and fearless, she told herself.

Emma made herself stand and cross over the stream to walk towards the path that lead back home. But she stopped because something was above her, Emma could feel it, and her grandfather always told her to trust her instincts.

Emma looked up and through the trees above she saw something black shimmer against the setting sun. What was that? Emma remained still and waited to see if it would pass by again.

Sascha stealthily landed on a tree branch behind the familiar human and called out to her, '_CAW!_'

Emma flung herself to the ground and lifted her arms up above her head in defence.

Sascha eyed Emma curiously. She was half amused by the human's reaction, but then she started to worry as to why Emma would react that way. It wasn't like her, it wasn't normal.

'_Caw, cawww?_' The raven flapped her wings. Sascha couldn't see her Keeper, where was he?

Emma swiftly got to her feet. The teen almost broke into a smile when she saw it was Sascha. "I know you can understand me, even though I can't understand you." Emma took a deep breath and explained to the raven what had happened.

The blonde's hands moved about expressively as she told Sascha about the monster that had attacked them, at how Merlin threw her, and finally at how she had been running for ages before stopping for a short break.

Sascha stared at Emma, she did not move, she was trying to process the whole thing. Slowly realising the extent of the situation Sascha panicked. The raven flustered herself and battered her wings. If she was a human, it would have appeared she was having a fit.

Emma waited for the bird to settle itself. She wasn't entirely sure what to do, other than to wait for the episode to end. But Emma did feel safer knowing she wasn't alone any more.

What am I to do? What would my Keeper expect me to do? Sascha's mind raced over all possible commands he would have given her. But she just couldn't focus.

After a few short moments of her still freaking out Sascha came to a final decision, she would ensure Emma was safe. The raven knew that without a doubt that would be the first thing her Keeper would ask her to do.

Sascha flew down from the tree branch and bounced over to Emma. She would look over the human first to make sure she wasn't injured badly. Emma seemed ok, aside from a few scratches, some twigs in her tangled hair, and an early developing bruise on her shin, but over all she appeared fine. The raven thought they were already off to a good start, and now all they had to do was get the Hel out the woods and back home.

Emma didn't know what the raven was doing as it hopped around her, looking up and down at her. The teen desperately wanted a hug, she wanted contact. Without even thinking, Emma reached out and held onto the bird.

"Oh Sascha, I love you so much, thank you for being here with me." The teen kissed the top of the raven's head as she gently held her. A single tear fell from the Emma's eye and splashed onto the raven's crown, and in that moment Emma wished Sascha was a human, so she could hug her back.

xxx

Red knocked on the wizard's door for a second time, but there was still no answer.

"I bet Merlin has fallen asleep in his library." Granny gave Red's hand a small squeeze.

Widow Lucas knew that if Merlin didn't answer the door, Emma most certainly would have, or at least the raven would have stuck its head out the tiny arched window above the door. Granny pulled out her handkerchief and started to clean her spectacles. She was doing it more out of habit, rather than necessity, that and it was helping her to think.

Red watched her grandmother clean her glasses, but became instantly bored. She decided to look around at the woods instead, to keep herself entertained.

It was their turn to visit for dinner and Red was excited to see Emma, she wanted to show her something very special. As Red's eyes study the path that lead deeper into the woods she noticed something moving along it, but she couldn't make out what it was behind the trees, it was too far away.

Granny placed her glasses back on her face and turned to look at Red to say something, but stopped when she saw the girl squinting. Granny followed her granddaughter's line of sight and caught onto what she was obviously staring at.

Off in the distance was two forms and they were walking along the path that lead out of the woods and towards Merlin's home. At first Granny assumed it was Merlin and Emma, she could see the girl upfront her long blonde hair was a dead giveaway. But as the second form came closer, Granny knew it wasn't the wizard.

"Who's that with Emma, Granny?" Red questioned.

"I don't know sweet heart, but we're about to find out." Granny pulled Red behind her slightly in a protective manner. They both silently waited and watched as the Emma and the mystery person continued to come closer.

* * *

**Sorry for leaving it on a cliff hanger, it would of been a huge chapter if I didn't split it here.**

**Thank you to everyone who is reading it still.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

**I own all the bad grammar though.**

* * *

Emma dearly wanted to sprinted down the rest of the path and greet Granny and Red. She was so happy to see them waiting by the house. The teen was about to walk a little faster but was tilted back slightly by a firm grip on her shoulder.

"Emma, please stay close to me, I know it's getting dark, so it's harder to see… but I feel less naked if you're in front of me." The woman's voice was thick with an unfamiliar accent. Emma figured it was because Sascha had been an animal before and that's what caused it.

"I'm sorry Sascha." Emma placed herself directly in front of the unclothed woman and made sure she was hiding Sascha's body somewhat more than before.

"Emma." Sascha placed her hand back on the teen's shoulder as they continued to walk, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry about everything, but I know that my Keeper would kill me if I had let you go back." Sascha squeezed Emma's shoulder. She wished she knew what to do, or say to make everything better, but it was not possible.

Emma stopped and the naked woman bumped into her back. The teen turned around and looked at her, Emma's face was angry at first but then it shifted into disappointment. The teen lowered her head and stared at her feet.

"It's not your fault, it's mine." Emma looked up at Sascha, "If I was older I could have saved him, but I'm not, I'm just a weak little child." Emma's voice was harsh in the end, she was angry again, angry at herself.

Sascha grabbed the teen by the shoulders and leaned in slightly. Emma's forest green eyes locked to Sascha's teal eyes, and for a moment they both stared at each other, lost to their own turmoils.

"Emma, I never want to hear you call yourself weak again, ever." Sascha was very serious. She needed the teen to understand the depth of what she was saying to her.

"If you had stayed you would have died, there is no weakness in knowing when to fight and knowing when to run." Sascha wanted to hug Emma, but she felt it slightly odd to do so when she was without clothes. She thought herself lucky that her thick long crimson hair cover her breasts, it provided some modesty. She started to miss her feathers.

"Ok Sascha." Emma turned away from her and made sure she was once more in front of the naked woman, they then continued to walk on.

They didn't speak again until they reached Granny and Red. Sascha had no idea how she was going to be greeted by them both. The redhead bit down on her lip, she had to make a decision. Would she only tell them who she was and grab some clothes to return to the woods, or, would she stay and watch over Emma?

If she left Emma and the creature returned she knew that there was no way an old lady and two children would survive… Not if a wizard couldn't. But what if her Keeper was alive, and she never tried to find him. While she was lost to her internal struggle she didn't hear Granny speaking to her, it was Emma's hand on her arm that pulled back to reality.

"What, pardon?" Sascha asked. She shook her head trying to snap away from contemplation.

"I asked who you are." Granny's voice was stern, as she was clearly sussing Sascha out.

Sascha waved her hand to gesture to each person. "I am Sascha, you're Widow Lucas, and" She turned to look at Red, who was half behind her grandmother, "that's Red."

Granny went on the defence and pulled Emma towards her with her left hand, and with the other pushed Red further behind her, then with the same hand pulled a dagger out of her belt.

"Prove it." Granny pointed the dagger at Sascha and took a step forward to create more distance between the naked woman and the two children.

Sascha couldn't help a sly smile creep up the side of her face. On one half she was impressed by the old woman's confidence. The smile slid away into a frown, and on the other half she insulted that Granny would think she'd hurt either child.

"As you can see I'm completely unarmed, and naked, so you clearly have nothing to fear from me." She paused, turning her head slightly to the side, "And should I point out, I walked all this way with Emma." Sascha took a step forward to place the dagger an inch away from her bare skin. "If I wanted to hurt her, wouldn't I have done so in the woods?"

Granny gave her a cynical look. She then noticed the woman was shaking, it was a cold night, and she supposed that a naked woman wasn't so dangerous. Granny sighed and lowered the dagger.

"Well I think you have some explaining to do _Sascha_." Granny turned to Emma and Red and ushered them into the house. She however kept herself between the children and the woman as they stepped inside.

"Emma, Red, light the fire please." Granny pointed to the fireplace, and then she turned back to Sascha. "You and I will sit in the kitchen to discuss this whole." Granny waved her hand up and down at the redhead, "Situation."

Sascha shot Widow Lucas an unimpressed look, but then her face lit up when she saw her Keeper's spare cloak hanging by the door.

"I'm sorry to be a bother, but could you pass me that cloak?" She had tried not to shake from the cold air, but with the recent absence of feathers, she couldn't help it, or hold it back any longer_. _How the Hel do humans deal with this? She contemplated.

Granny huffed, grabbed the cloak and threw it to the redhead, and then waited for her to cover up before pushing Sascha towards the kitchen table. She still hand the dagger in hand, just in case.

xxx

The fireplace crackled in the main room as Emma tossed a piece of wood into it. She could see Granny to her right, sitting at the table, but the arched entrance to the kitchen stopped her from seeing anything else. She guessed Granny wanted to keep an eye on her and Red from the table and to hide Sascha away… Adults are weird, she concluded.

Red was settled next to Emma, leaning up against her friends shoulder for support. She slid her legs out straight to warm her feet, and then adjusted the long blanket over them both. The young girl was trying to be supportive, but she couldn't help doubt from building inside her.

Red turned her head to look at Emma with a sceptical expression. "No really, who's that woman Em?"

The teen gave Red a small smile, this was the second time her friend asked her that question. She could understand the disbelief. It was hard for her to believe it. "It's pretty amazing don't you think?"

"Emma you can't answer my question with a question." Red grabbed her friends arm and pulled her closer. "That woman can't be Sascha." raising her eyebrows in question.

Emma gave Red a small shove, but then drew her closer for warmth. She rested her head on her friend's shoulder and stared at the flickering fire.

Red might have been four years younger than Emma, but in this moment her friend felt like the older one. "It's really her Red." Emma finally answered, "I don't know why she's a human now, but it's really Sascha."

Emma closed her tired eyes and thought about her grandfather, she wanted to cry, or scream, but couldn't bring herself to. Instead she clung to her closest friend. She considered Red as a sister, and right now she needed this closeness.

Red could feel her friend's body tense and so she put her arm around Emma's shoulder to stroke the teens tangled blonde hair. "Ok, I believe you Em." She said supportively.

As Red stroked the blonde hair, her fingers became stuck in one of the knots. Emma flinched at the pain when Red pulled her hand away. The dark haired girl suddenly felt very protective of Emma, especially after she had told her about the monster in the woods, and how her grandfather might be dead. Red wanted to do something nice for her.

"Em, I'm going to get your hairbrush so I can fix up this mess." Red stood and headed towards her friend's room to retrieve the small wooden handled brush on the chest of draws. The dark haired girl had been over Emma's place enough times to know where her things were kept.

xxx

Granny looked at the red haired woman suspiciously while they sat at opposite ends of the kitchen table. Granny leaned in, clutching the dagger tightly in her right hand and spoke with a steely tone, "I'm going to ask once more." She placed the dagger flat on the table, but kept her hand over it, "Who are you?"

Sascha pulled her Keeper's cloak tighter around her shoulders. Taking a moment to remember the events leading up to her transformation, the surprise at having legs, arms, a featherless body… and _breasts_. She shook her head and focused on answering this repetitive question.

"I am Sascha." The redhead deadpanned. She was getting annoyed, but decided not to let it show.

Granny slammed her hands down onto the table and stood, "Ok _Sascha_, where's Merlin then?" Widow Lucas had little patience for tricks, if this was one.

Sascha was no longer going to hide her building agitation with the way she was being spoken to. She had done nothing wrong to deserve being treated with suspicion and aggression.

Sascha stood promptly and with conviction told Widow Lucas what had happened. She explained at length, the then raven her had gone on a trivial fly about, found Emma, and was transformed into her current form. She had no idea where the wizard was, and this disturbed her the most. If she could find him, then he may be able to explain why she had become this way.

"Well." Was all Granny could say as she sat back down. She eyed Sascha for a moment and then signalled to the redhead to sit as well.

"I'm sorry for treating you poorly, but I am not sorry for being protective over the little ones." Granny would admit when she was wrong, but on the same hand would stick to her dagger when in the right.

Sascha smiled, no longer having to feel like she had to justify herself any longer. Well, at least for now.

"I'm going to change into some of my Keeper's clothes and go search for him." She started to get out of the chair but stopped when she saw her feet in the kitchen lamp light. She stared at them and wiggled her toes.

"You ok there?" Granny asked.

Sascha snapped out of her mussing, "I'm fine, I just, I'm still adjusting." She shrugged and continued to head towards her Keeper's bedroom.

Granny smiled at her, she was all too familiar with what Sascha was going through, only in reverse.

"Change quickly dear, so you can go looking for that old fool." Granny's smile faded on the last words, she didn't think Merlin was a fool, she meant it as a term of endearment, although, if he was found alive she'd kill him for making them all worry. She couldn't believe how that man could make her smile one moment, and then make her furious the next.

A slight blush spread across Granny's cheeks as she thought of him. They had never spoken to each other about the possibility of liking one another more than friends. Instead they come to a silent agreement they both weren't going to go there. Granny hadn't named herself Widow Lucas for nothing. But there were days when she would contemplate the idea of possibly being with someone else again. And Merlin would come to her mind often.

Granny sighed as she buried her feelings, and went out to check on Emma and Red in the main room.

xxx

The first thing he could hear was a symphony of crickets, and they seemed to be all around him. The sheer sound of all the chirping hurt his eardrums, but as he waited, the pain subsided and the sound became manageable, more normal.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a midnight sky above. Merlin couldn't remember why he was outside, why he was lying flat on his back looking at the stars. He turned his head slightly from side to side and saw trees towering all around, they were a familiar sight.

"Why am I in the woods?" he rasped and then licked his lips, they were very dry and he couldn't recall when he last drank water.

Merlin made the mistake of trying to sit up, and as the world spun around him, he collapsed back into the grass. The wizard decided to rest for a bit longer and let his mind try to think back.

The cool night air started to make his attenuate body shiver. He knew he had to get moving to get away from the cold, and so Merlin tried for a second time to sit up. He gingerly turned to his side and lifted himself up on his forearms. The memory then spilled forth, a succession of images flooding his mind.

Once Emma was far enough away, Merlin transformed into barn owl and tried to fly away. The Stuhac clipped him in mid-flight and he spiralled to the ground. Then there was only darkness. Merlin assumed he was knocked out and only now had woken up.

His heart skipped a beat when he thought of his little swan. Had she gotten away? Was she still alive? He sat himself up successfully and adjusted his thick robes, but they were torn at the front which made it harder to cover up from the cold.

The wizard slowly rose to his feet, clutching the front of his robes closed, and waited a few moments to collect some strength. Merlin looked around and could make out the Stuhac tracks. They weren't hard to see at night, it had made a horrible mess to the surrounding vegetation. On further studying he saw the destruction led towards the north, which indicated that it had not followed Emma. A sudden wave of relief washed over him and he let out a long breath of satisfaction. It meant he had successful stopped the creature long enough for her to get away.

Merlin's whole body ached as he lumbered down the familiar path towards home. He was happy to be alive, and he would be even happier to see Emma and Sascha again.

xxx

Sascha walked barefoot along the path into the almost pitch black woods, she didn't care to wrap her feet. She preferred to feel the earth on her skin. It felt more natural, familiar even.

However she did not like her current lack of night vision. Humans could see hardly anything at night. And the lack of distance perception would be sorely missed. Her hearing was dulled as well, when she thought about it she had lost a lot due to the change.

Live and let live, she thought, trying to get over the negatives.

At hearing something off in the distance, the redhead quickly ducked down behind a shrub. She thought it might be a dear, but the noise didn't match up when it got closer. It sounded more like… like that of a human. Sascha popped her head out to the side to see who it was. She hoped to Frigg above it was her Keeper.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the figure lumbered along the path, it was breathing heavily, and stopped to lean up against a tree trunk. Sascha thought she would take a chance and call out to them, "Keeper, it that you?" She stage whispered.

Merlin's body tensed as he heard something call out to him, but it wasn't familiar, and the only creature that called out to him with that name was Sascha. It couldn't be her though, this voice was different, and it sounded human.

Perhaps he was still feeling the effects of the fall, and was hallucinating. He pushed himself away from the tree and continued his journey home, not much longer now he figured.

Sascha watched her Keeper continue moving down the path. She wasn't sure if he had heard her, so she spoke out loud this time, "Keeper!"

The wizard stopped dead in his tracks. Merlin didn't have the strength to cast a full spell, but his stalker would be none the wiser of this. He conjured a small fireball and kept his hand down. It was taking the last of his strength to keep it going.

"Show yourself shadow!" He commanded.

Sascha walked out from behind the shrub and adjusted the oversized tunic, subconsciously wanting to look presentable in her Keeper's presence. The redhead made sure to keep a reasonable amount of distance between them, enough for him to surely see her with the light of the fireball, but far enough away that if he threw it at her, she could dodge it.

Merlin frowned at what he was seeing, but did not move. The wizard brought the fireball up to his chest level and studied the woman.

"Your hair is the colour of blood…" Merlin hadn't meant to say his thought out loud, but being fatigued made oneself say or do strange things.

"I know, it's all very different, and… Oh my, I'm sorry Keeper, it's me." She pressed her hands against her chest in a pointing manner, "its Sascha!" The redhead was very happy to see her Keeper alive and he was clearly ok, enough so to use magic at least.

Over the years her Keeper had tried to change her back to what she was in a previous life, or so he claim, but each attempt had failed. After the sixth experiment, which accomplished nothing, they both had decided to give up on it being possible. That was almost two winters ago.

Merlin was so surprised that it caused his jaw to hang slightly open. He blinked a few times and then instinctively stroked his beard.

Sascha's eyes went wide, and Merlin could smell burning hair.

She leapt forward and swatted at the wizard's lit beard. Merlin also slapped at his facial hair. They both stopped their actions when the fire was clearly gone.

"My word, that was silly of me." Merlin stroked his beard and pulled away the burnt remains of hair. He looked at Sascha, and they both broke out into laughter.

"The only thing that could stop you, my Keeper, is yourself." Sascha said with a finale chuckle.

Merlin grabbed the front of his robes to close them as he felt the night air reminded him it was cold. "We'd best be heading home." He placed his free hand on his friend's shoulder for extra support and they walked off onto the path.

"Oh and don't call me keeper anymore Sascha, you're not an animal." Merlin thought over the name she had called him for so many years.

It was proper for a wizard's animal companion to address him by that title. And in all honesty, Sascha shouldn't have called him by that title at all, she wasn't naturally a bird, well her soul wasn't at least. Merlin had tried to get her to call him by his name when he discovered her past, but Sascha was stubborn.

"Yes Ke- um, I mean Merlin." As she spoke his name she couldn't help but smile. It felt good to say it.

"So tell me Sascha, how was the spell broken?" The wizard asked.

Merlin listened with intrigue as the redhead explained the moments leading up to her transformation, and thereafter.

xxx

"So what is this called again?" Emma slid her fingers down her hair feeling the rise and dips before stopping at the leather tie at the end.

"It's a braid Em, and it helps keep your hair tidy." Red continued to loop the strands of hair between her fingers as she had done on the left side of Emma's head. Granny had shown her how to do it a few times before. She tried doing it on herself, but it never turned out like she wanted it to.

Emma played with the braid and then stopped when she remembered Red talking to her about something amazing she wanted to show her. "Red what was it you wanted to show me before, when you finished brushing my hair?"

Red finished the braid and tied it off with a strip of leather. "Oh I think I'll have to show you tomorrow, it's too dark now." Her voice was a little sad. She really wanted to show Emma she could shape-shift.

"Ok, well, how about you just tell me about it then?" Emma wasn't going to give up. When her curiosity was pricked she found it hard to just simply give in. Red gave her a stern look that quickly turned into a cheeky smile. Emma then knew she had to go about it a different way.

After Red was satisfied with Emma's hair they settled themselves onto the trundle bed. Red had slept in the same bed as Emma when she stayed over. And over the years the girl had come to consider Emma as part of her family, her pack.

Red looked around the teens room. Emma had to share the room with Merlin's writing desk and a long book shelf, but other than that the bed, draws, and chest was hers. It was nice of him to adopt her, even if they weren't blood related. She thought herself lucky to have her grandmother.

Emma was getting frustrated with not knowing Red's secret and thought that she had to take physical approach now. She pinched Red's shoulder, "Tell me Red, or I shall pinch you until you're the colour of your name." she bellowed in a humorous tone.

In truth Emma just wanted to have a moment of fun, she hoped Sascha would find her grandfather, but right now she just wanted to feel normal and not be filled with sadness. Trying to find out Red's secret was just an excuse in the end.

Red laughed and swatted Emma's hand away. She rubbed her arm and pouted at the blonde, "Em, you're so mean to me, I am younger than you so you have to be nice to me."

Emma lunged towards Red to tickle her, but the girls were interrupted by Granny.

"Emma come quick, Merlin is here with Sascha." Granny was grinning. The girls didn't hear Merlin and Sascha enter the house due to the noise they were making.

Both girls looked at each other in excitement and leaped towards the main room.

The wizard hobbled as he moved towards Emma, she dove at him without thinking it would harm him. Merlin groaned as the blonde held onto him tightly.

"Easy Em, you're stronger than you know." His voice was raspy and he put his free hand on her head. He was still clutching the front of his robes and was grateful for a warm fireplace.

"Yeah she is." Red chimed in rubbing her arm that had been pinch moments ago.

Granny frowned at Red, and then ushered both girls to stand on the other side of the room to give Merlin and Sascha some space.

"Sorry dears, but the adults have a lot of talking to do and I'm afraid it's both past your bed times." She bent over and embraced them both in each arm. Red turned her head and gave Granny a quick peck on the cheek before hugging her back. Emma hugged Granny as well, but her eyes remained on Merlin, she was filled with utter joy to see him alive.

"Rest well, both of you." Merlin smiled at Emma.

"Yes, sleep well." Sascha's voice slightly broke, she wasn't use to having to say goodnight, when you're a raven you just went to sleep. Thankfully she had learnt enough on how to be like a human, from being around Merlin and Emma over the years.

xxx

Red pushed Emma off the trundle, the blonde had slept on her arm through the night and now it was completely numb.

"Wh-why…?" Emma rubbed her eyes and turned to look at Red, "Why did you push me Red?" Emma yawned and sat up stretching her arms out.

Red was sitting up and held her right arm tightly, "Em you've killed my arrr-" but she didn't get to finish what she was going to say as the sharp pain of pins and needles shot down her arm. She leaned over and groaned.

"Rub it my pup." Granny walked into the room having heard the thud of Emma's body rolling onto the floor. She strode towards Red and helped rub the girl's arm, "You have to get the blood moving again."

Emma's eyes were half open as she stood and then wandered out towards the kitchen. She didn't see Sascha leaning up against the wall and the blonde bumped into her.

"Sorry" Emma yawned again, "Did you sleep ok Sascha?" She had asked the question out of habit, because her grandfather always asked her how she slept each morning.

Sascha did not answer. Emma stopped and looked up. The woman was fast asleep. Emma stood back and stared at the redhead. Had she slept the entire night leaning against the wall? Emma furrowed her eyebrows together at the sheer idea that it was even possible, or comfortable to sleep all night standing up.

Granny strolled in with Red behind her, who was still rubbing her aching arm. Granny stopped next to Emma and eyed Sascha, "She's been like that since I got up at the crack of dawn."

All three of them now were staring at Sascha. The redhead started to stir as if she subconsciously knew she was being watched. Her eyes shot open and she cried out flapping her arms and then fell face first towards the wooden floor.

Emma, Granny, and Red stood still as they saw Sascha lying face down with her arms spread out. "I hate being human…" Sascha mumbled the statement as her face was squashed against the floor.

Red was the first to move towards Sascha, then Granny and Emma moved in to help the redhead up off the floor.

"Oww, my legs don't work." Sascha stumbled and clung to Granny. They helped lower the redhead back to the floor.

"I'm not surprised dear, you slept standing up, what did you think would happen." Granny said it more as a statement then as an actual question.

Emma looked at Red. The girl had a smirk on her face, which in turn caused Emma to smirk too. It was pretty funny, seeing the Sascha fall over, and she seemed okay, so it wasn't such a bad thing to find it humorous. Merlin had taught Emma not to laugh at someone else's misfortune, not even if you disliked them. But in the same turn he did allow her to laugh at some things, as long as no one was seriously harmed.

"Okay girls take your breakfast outside, I'll help Sascha." Granny said in an authoritative voice. She gave them a smile to show she wasn't upset. Granny just needed them out of the way. Plus the sun light was good for their health.

The two girls went into the kitchen and each grabbed a wooden bowl. Red looked into her bowl and groaned, "Yay, its oats." She said sarcastically.

The comment made Emma giggle and they both went out the front door. The sun was just over the trees, which meant it was still early in the day. Emma was just learning how to tell time by the sun, her grandfather would ask her at various points in the day what hour she thought it to be.

"Wow we slept in Em, it's like eight in the morning." Red said. She plopped herself on a log next to the house and stabbed at the bowl of oats with her spoon.

"How can you tell what time it is?" Emma sat next to Red on the log and scooped a spoon full of oats into her mouth.

Red looked up into the sky squinting and then turned her head back to look at Emma. "I just can, I guess it's cos I'm a Faoladh, it's like instinct or something." She started to eat her breakfast, clearly done with answering Emma.

Emma coughed on her last mouthful, and flicked her head to look at Red, "A what?!"

Red smirked at her friend's reaction, "Oh yeah, that thing I wanted to show you, well I guess it should be okay now." She placed her bowl done on the log and jumped up to stand in front of Emma.

"You think Sascha's the only one who can shape-shift?" Red wiggled her eyebrow at Emma, and then put her arms out in front of her.

Emma watched with awe as Red slowly shifted into a wolf. It was amazing, but very different to when Sascha had changed. The blonde put her bowl done on the ground and kneeled. Red moved forward for Emma to touch her, and Emma did. She slid her hands over her friends' face and grinned.

xxx

"That was unbelievable Red!"

Merlin heard Emma say as both girls came back into the house. He shifted in his reading chair and started to stroke his beard. "What was unbelievable my little swan?"

Emma jerk at hearing her nick name and ran towards him. She was more careful this time and gently leaned in to give him a hug. Merlin wrapped an arm around her and patted her back a few times. Emma pulled back after she was satisfied with the much needed contact.

"Um…" Emma looked questioningly at Red, was she allowed to say anything about it? Red gave her a nod and went to the kitchen to get rid of the bowls. Emma turned back to Merlin.

"Red shape-shifted into a wolf." The teen said with glee while clutching her hands together.

Granny's eyes went wide and shot a look of disapproval in Red's direction, "You what?!" Granny stormed towards the dark haired girl and started to lecture her on when it was okay to shift and that it wasn't something she should fool around with.

Emma cringed and started to feel guilty as she watched her friend being berated.

"Wait you can change into a wolf?" Sascha asked.

Merlin turned his head to look at the redhead from his chair, "Yes, Red and Granny are both Faoladh, which is a race of people who can change into wolves."

Sascha turned and clutched the front of Granny's dress, "How do you shape-shift?" she asked urgently. Granny gave Sascha a cross look and gently pushed the woman's hands away from her chest.

"Calm yourself Sascha, it isn't the same for you, you can't shape-shift." Granny adjusted the layers on her dress and took off her knitted shawl. She walked over to Red and placed it around the girl's shoulders. Red glared at her, she hated it when she was grounded. Red would have to wear it as a reminder that she wasn't allowed to shift until Granny took it off.

"And why not?!" Sascha was beside herself, she just wanted to be a raven again, being a human was difficult. At least she knew what she could and couldn't do as a raven. Life wasn't that bad as a bird.

Red tried to escape back outside, only to be grabbed by Granny and pulled back to stand next to her grandmother. Emma and Merlin watched the scene unfold and decided that they would slip away to the wizard's room to have a chat.

They got up and walked into the study, where Emma slept and called her room, then moved into the next room at the back of the tree trunk house. Merlin's room was in the lower part of the house, you had to go down a couple of spiralling stairs to get to it. As Emma was walking to his room she thought of the dimensions of the house itself. It looked too small on the outside to have this much room on the inside. And that's when she realised it had to be magic.

When they entered Merlin's room Emma blurted out the question, "This house is made from magic, isn't it?"

Merlin looked at her slightly surprised. "Why, yes it is." He chuckled and sat on the end of his rope bed, "Honestly Em, it took you long enough to come to that conclusion." He smirked at her in jest, he knew she wasn't stupid it's just she had a tendency to miss the obvious on occasions.

"Anyway that's not important right now. I need to ask you about what happened in the woods, when you were holding Sascha." He patted his hand on the bed to get her to sit next to him. Emma complied and sat down. She leaned into his side and curled her legs up to her chest.

"Well, um, I was crying and I hugged Sascha, and then there was a bright light and I got knocked back." Emma looked up at Merlin. He didn't look at her, he was stroking his beard and she could see his face wrinkled in thought. She figured he might be waiting for her to continue with the story.

"And then, well, she was lying on the ground, naked." Emma looked away from her grandfather to stare at the wall as she remembered seeing Sascha for the first time. She felt something strange wash over her as she allowed the memory to play out. Sascha was truly beautiful, Emma thought. Her skin was almost a milky white, and her hair, it looked like blood as it was splayed out over her shoulders and chest. But it was Sascha's eyes that caught Emma the most. They looked like the colour of a clear sky. It was as if the raven could leave the sky but the sky couldn't leave the raven. She felt her face burn slightly, but couldn't understand why.

"Opa?" Emma cupped her hands over her cheeks and pulled away from him.

Merlin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. A puzzled expression spread across his face as he watched Emma for a moment, "Little swan what's the matter?"

"I think I'm getting something, I feel ill." She pouted at him, and pulled her hands away from her face. She was sure he could see her cheeks burning.

"You look fine to me Emma, a little flushed though." He placed the back of his hand on her forehead and huffed. "Yep, you're fine dear. Now tell me more about this bright light."

Emma let out a breath she wasn't aware she had held in and continued to explain a few times over what had transpired. They talked about it for ages, going over it again, and again.

"Wait, I think I'm going about this all wrong." Merlin stood up and paced, "What were you thinking when you held Sascha?" He started to stroke his beard again.

Emma sighed. She was getting tired of this, "Okay, I was, hmmm." She tried to think back on what was going through her head at that exact moment, "Oh, I wished Sascha was a human so she could hug me back."

Merlin grabbed Emma's shoulders and lifted her up from the bed so she was at eye level with him. He hadn't done it in a forceful way, but it still frightened Emma. She looked at him wide eyed but did not pull away.

"What did you feel when you wished for her to be human?" He asked intensely.

Magic was heavily tied to one's emotional status. He hadn't realised it before, but when he, as Mimir, changed Sascha into a raven he did it out of pure love for a friend. And when he was trying to change Sascha back to a human all those times before, he did it without the same emotional intent. It was so simple, and he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Opa, am I in trouble?" Emma asked in a small voice. Her forehead wrinkled as the teen waited for his answer.

Merlin eased up his grip on her and attentively stroked her arms, "Sorry dear, I shouldn't have reacted like that, and no you're not in trouble." He pulled her into a hug.

Emma hugged him back and answered his question, "I felt like this, I felt love for her Opa."

Merlin gave her a quick squeeze and let her go, he had his suspicion confirmed. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her slightly away from himself.

"Emma have I ever told you what the strongest element to casting magic was, the strongest element for everything actually?" He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head to look her in the eyes.

Emma's eyes were lovely to look at in all honesty. Merlin thought those eyes held a forest in them. First you saw the green and then closer to the pupil was a light brown. It was intriguing that they had such similar eye colour, except his were darker. He could pass as her biological grandfather if questioned by a stranger.

"No Opa, you have never told me." Emma pressed her fingers against his forehead, trying to massage his serious look away. Merlin smiled at her caring manner. She would do that to him when he was deep in thought, but only if she could reach him of course.

Merlin reached up and took her hand into his, and then placed it over his chest, where his heart beat underneath.

"Love Emma, love is the most powerful element." He stroked her head with his other hand and then placed it over her heart. "Love is strength."

* * *

**Thank you Ardenwood for the comment, I laughed when you suspected the mystery person was Snow. But then again I'm the one writing it, so I guess I should know who the person was... dear gods whose in control of this mess?**

**Seriously, Thank you to everyone one for reading, I hope to have the next chapter out soon. I just wish I could type faster.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I smegging promise you amazing people that we will get to see more of Emma and Regina after this chapter.  
I do apologise for the huge build up, but it is all for a very good reason.  
So if you've stuck with me this far, then thank you for putting up with it.**

**(ShadowCub I have answered your question at the bottom)**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

Graham picked at a large groove in the wooden stool from the weight of what Merlin had told him. "You're absolutely sure it was a Stuhac?" He knew the wizard wouldn't lie to him, but this was a very hard situation to believe.

Merlin stopped stroking his long silvery beard and stared at the hunter. "It was without a doubt a Stuhac." His voice was sharp so as to leave no room for doubt.

"That's not possible! They don't hunt in the woods, and you know that." Graham ran a hand through his dark hair as if it would also brush away the uneasiness. "Plus they never get that big, what you have described would mean it was some sort of Dire Stuhac."

Merlin nodded in agreement, the creature was large for its size and the wizard knew how they could get that big. But more importantly, what in the world was a creature known only to reside in high mountains or barren areas be doing in the thick of the woods? It was truly puzzling. He was also ultimately grateful that the creature hadn't shown up again since its appearance five days ago.

The hunter was no longer complaisant with sitting and stood to pace. "This is bad, really bad." He then dipped back down onto the stool only to get up again. Graham wasn't sure what to do with his body as his mind raced. "I didn't think those things were still alive since the Dwarves took Wyrmspine Mountains. They can't be alive, right?" He had directed the question more to himself. The hunter would just have to accept it was real and alive.

It that moment Graham remembered that a creature could be called up into existence with magic. "Wait, what if we supposed someone with magic had summoned a Stuhac out here?" He asked gesturing a hand in question.

Merlin eyed Graham briefly, and then rubbed his hands against his face trying to think. It's not like great and powerful spell casters announced themselves in the north, but he could safely assume he'd be the only one close enough to perform the summoning ritual.

"Nobody that I know of, other than myself, is capable of summoning a creature of that calibre up here in the north." He stroked his beard gingerly and continued, "If it had been summoned I would have known, its aura would've reflected its true nature."

The wizard sighed and looked out the small oval window above Emma's bed from his seat. "No it had a natural aura. It would be completely resistant to magic, like all true Stuhac's are."

This had been the reason why Merlin freaked at seeing it, he couldn't just unsummon it, and magic was useless against it. A heavy breath escaped his as he thanked Freyja above that Emma and he escaped it in the end.

Merlin shifted his thoughts to contemplate as to why the creature would travel through the woods willingly. Surely it had found it increasingly difficult to traverse through the thickness of trees and due to its size it was possible it went through a village beforehand.

This made the wizard's stomach turn, the limbs it had collected were apart of people once. Merlin pushed through the gruesome images and reflected on the years of knowledge he had accumulated on supernatural creatures. Still only one possibility continued to emerge and he would have to now consider it seriously.

Graham finally sat down on the stool and picked at the familiar groove again. "If magic is useless against it, and it wasn't summoned by someone, then what does that leave behind?" He hoped that by laying out what they already knew it might inspire Merlin to think of something new or something that had been missed before.

Merlin knew what the hunter was doing and he appreciated the input, but the last possibility would be an outrageous assumption. "Dear Freyja, it's can't be so…" he muttered to himself.

Graham watched the wizard but did not interrupt him. He was use to Merlin's oddness and could discern well enough when to interact with the old man, and when to let him go on talking to himself.

Merlin racked his brain at the thought. If it was _possessed_ it could only be done by a god, because they were the only beings powerful enough to actually take over the body of a creature like that. Ok let's assume it's true, that a god had actively possessed a Stuhac and entered the woods, so what would the purpose for it be? He speculated.

The wizard stopped stroking his beard as he replayed the day of the attack over and over again. The creature had definitely been after him, for if it was after Emma then it would have gone after her when he was knocked out. In fact it had left almost in the same direction it had come from when Merlin woke up and studied its tracks. A cold chill travelled down Merlin's spine causing him to marginally shudder.

The wizard shook his head. "I haven't done anything to invoke a god's wrath that would warrant this, so why would one even come after me?" He flicked his hands out in question while frowning.

Graham watched Merlin conversing with himself and continued to wait for the right moment to ask what the wizard was talking about.

Suddenly Merlin pulled his hands back as if they had been burnt, realising he may have angered a god because he had been harbouring the child chosen by the All Mother, Freyja.

The wizard rubbed the back of his neck to ease the stress building there. He would have to think on that at another time, right now he needed to ensure Emma's safety, she came first.

"The swan's safety has been compromised." Merlin uttered to himself.

Graham knew he should interrupt the wizard now and so leaned in on the stool, clicking his fingers to catch Merlin's attention. "Whose safety has been compromised?" The old man jolted at the sound, but Graham knew that it was an effective method to use when Merlin was absorbed in contemplation.

"Emma, she's in danger." Merlin replied and then in one fluid motion rose out of his chair and strode out through the door towards the main room. Graham instinctively followed.

The hunter stopped though when he saw Merlin bustling around the main room opening cupboard doors, draws and chests frantically pulling out the contents. Graham gathered that the wizard was searching for something of importance and obviously couldn't remember where it was.

"Why wouldn't Emma be safe with the most powerful wizard in the north?" Graham wanted to grab Merlin to hold him still, but resisted it.

Merlin ignoring the question continued to talk out loud to himself. "I had considered something like this may happen one day, but I did not think it would be this soon!" He opened a draw and pulled bits and pieces out in a hurry, not caring about the mess he was creating.

"Dear Freyja please don't let it be now, she's so young." He threw open a chest and pulled out everything. The wizard moved onto the next chest of draws in the corner, left of the fireplace.

"I haven't seen you yet Freyja, so I guess that means this whole situation isn't part of your plan." He huffed at not finding what he wanted. "Or is it?" He paused briefly and then continued to frantically search the second draw. But it was there, it had to be in the last draw he deduced.

"Truly I had hoped I would've had more time to teach Emma more magic, but no, things never go as planned." He pulled out Emma's baby blanket and searched deeper into the back of the draw. "But she will be safe with them. At least they can hide her, keep her safe, and teach her some stuff." He flicked his hands out in relief as he finally found the amulet.

"There you are!" He wiped his brow in relief and gingerly scooped it out. The wizard rose from crouching and turned to look at Graham.

The hunter was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by a mess of items that Merlin had thrown chaotically about. The wizard frowned at the disarray and then discounted it a second later.

"I can't risk taking her myself, so you will have to take her. I need to head towards the east anyway, so she can't come with me. No, not where I need to go." He tippy toed around the mess and darted off to go towards his room.

Graham could no longer hold back, he reached out and stopped Merlin with a hand to the wizard's chest before he had a chance to disappear. "Where Merlin, where do I take Emma to?" He asked with a concerned look.

"Why to the Grove of the Druids of course!" Merlin looked at him as if it should have been obvious.

Graham pulled his hand away from Merlin's chest to let the wizard continue to race around the house. The hunter looked around at the chaos and thought it was an excellent example of what Merlin's mind looked like most of the time.

xxx

"I'm not going!" Emma stomped her foot down and clenched her fists.

"I'm not arguing with you about this dear." Merlin finished the final knot to secure the knapsack to the horse's saddle.

They had discussed this for nearly an hour since she and Sascha had returned from the river, where they washed themselves. And since the Stuhac attack, Merlin asked Sascha to watch over Emma when he couldn't. Before they returned though, Merlin got Graham go into town to buy two horses, while he packed for the journey ahead.

Sascha seemed fine with it all, which surprised him slightly, but also made sense considering she used to be a bird before. No it was Emma who had taken it badly. She hadn't spoken to him for roughly twenty minutes at first, but now she didn't want to be quiet about anything. He knew she wouldn't understand it all, but this had to be done, she needed to be safe.

Emma growled at him, "I don't want to leave! How can you do this to me?"

Merlin frowned at her and then gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "My little swan, I -"

Emma lifted her arms up between his and shoved his arms away taking a step back. "I'm not your little swan. I'm not six anymore!" She hissed at him. "You're leaving me!" she sucked in a breath fighting back the tears she could feel coming, "You're leaving me like my parents left me!" Her voice broke and she started to cry.

Merlin rushed in to encircle her with his long arms. He didn't know how to explain that she was safer away from him and that he was doing this for her sake. He wasn't abandoning her.

Sascha was uncomfortable with the whole situation. She felt like a fish out of water, or in her case a bird unable to fly. Why are humans so emotional? She questioned. Not that she didn't feel emotions, it just seemed like humans felt everything more intensely. Oh no, am I going to feel this sort of stuff too? She decided it best to just watch the horse and let them sort it out.

Emma angrily pushed Merlin away. "Well go, leave me, I don't care!" she yelled, wrapping her arms around her chest. Merlin gasped at her outburst and he was about to say something but Sascha spoke first.

"Emma!" Sascha said in a stern voice. The red head thought it was foolish for the girl to act this way towards someone she loved. This may be the last time she gets to see her grandfather for a long time. Surely Emma would regret leaving on bad terms with Merlin.

"I can see you're angry and that you don't grasp the extent of this situation, but your grandfather loves you so much that he is willing to ensure your safety no matter what."

The red head started to walk towards her. "You honestly don't think it doesn't hurt him just as much to see you go as well?" Sascha knew Emma was a bright girl, and would understand what she was saying to her.

Merlin's eyebrows slightly shifted up in surprise at Sascha's words. He was impressed that she was defending his decision and knew that he was doing everything out of love for Emma. He had honestly not expected her to care like this.

Emma wiped the tears away from her face and sucked in a breath of air. She looked at Merlin for a moment and then threw herself at the wizard. The teen held onto him tightly and apologised.

"It's going to be okay my little sw-, er Emma." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her gently away from him to look at her face.

"I have a present to give you, I was going to give it to you when you turned fifteen, but I think it's most appropriate now." He reached into his thick grey robes and pulled out a circular amulet attached to a thin silver chain. He gently took hold Emma's hand and brought it up to place the amulet into it.

She eyed it as it shone in the sun light. It had a series of divots around the silvery flattish ring. The chain had smaller rings that were clipped around the amulet itself, which in turn allowed it to move freely.

"I saw you wearing this exact amulet in a dream Emma, so it made out of a lump of white gold that came from the Island of the Gods in the East. That is where I'm headed with Sascha, and so now you'll have something from where I'll be. In a way we'll still be together." He bent down on one knee and retrieved the amulet from her hand. He unclasped one of the rings on the end of the chain and placed it around Emma's neck, then fastened it together again.

He smiled broadly until the skin at corner of his eyes wrinkled, and then hugged her again. Emma hugged him back affectingly. She rubbed her nose into the neck of his robes like she had done as a child. Merlin thought he'd be irritated by the action, but it made him miss her more.

"I love you my granddaughter." He whispered to her.

"I love you Opa." She whispered back.

Sascha squirmed as she watched, she felt like she was invading a private moment between them. So she turned away to go look for Graham.

"I need to finish saddling the horse Emma, would you like to help me?" Merlin stood back up and walked to the mare. Emma followed him.

Once both horses had been prepared for travel they all meet outside the front of the tree trunk house, awaiting the next set of events to unfold.

Merlin turned to Emma and decided to show her one last time something magical.

"You asked me if this home was built with magic, well you're about to see it become what it once was before I changed it." He walked up to the house and placed his hand onto the front door. Emma eagerly watched with wide eyes.

Merlin whispered a goodbye to his home, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

The trunk creaked and cracked as it slowly changed. The glass in the windows smashed into pieces at it was replaced by new fibres of wood. The tree was returning to its natural self. The horses stirred slightly at the noise but almost immediately calmed as Graham and Sascha patted them.

Emma grinned at the sight, but then she was struck with fear. She ran towards Merlin and lifted her arms up signalling for him to stop, "Wait my blanket!" she cried.

Merlin opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I remembered Emma. It's in your bag on Graham's horse." He closed his eyes to visualise the last bit of the spell.

Emma slapped a hand on her face and dragged it down slowly. The teen now felt completely embarrassed that she had just yelled out for her baby blanket in front of the adults.

Merlin pulled his hand away as the tree was finished returning to its former self. It loomed high in the sky and no one would know it was once a home to a wizard, a raven, and an orphan.

"Do you know what type of tree this is Emma?" Merlin looked at her. This was going to be the last time he could test her knowledge on the something he had taught her. The realisation of this made the wizard's heart ache, but he smiled through it.

"It's a sequoiaedae?" Emma's tongue twisted to make the sound of the word, but it wasn't doing what she wanted it to do. She mumbled the word a few times more, getting increasingly frustrated with her tongue.

Merlin chuckled, "Close Em, very close, it's a sequoioideae." He corrected.

Most parts of the woods were made up of this type of tree, along with a few other varieties, and Merlin did his best to pass this knowledge onto Emma. He was up to teaching her about the different plant types. But now the Druids would teach her this knowledge.

"Um I may sound uneducated here, but, I know it as a redwood." Graham said.

Sascha huffed. This was nonsense, they had to get moving, time was important, especially if someone was hunting down her former Keeper. Why were they wasting time talking about trees?

"Yes very good, it's a tree, can we please get going?" She said hastily. Not realising she sounded rude to everyone else.

Each of them stared at the red head. Sascha wished she could fly away, but she couldn't so the red head turned away and checked her bag again.

They each paired up and went to a horse. Merlin mounted the stallion and leaned over to help Sascha climb up to sit behind him. Graham lifted Emma up first and climbed up to sit behind her. They brought the horses together to say their good byes.

"I promise to get messages to you Em." Merlin said. Sascha gripped the wizard's thin body, and added her own farewell to Emma with a wave of her hand. "See you sometime in the future."

Graham nodded to Merlin in a silent goodbye. Emma's eyes started to tear, but she held them back. Her hand edged to the amulet around her neck and she grasped it softly.

"Please do it as often as you can Opa. I will miss you both." She said loudly, her voice broke slightly on the last words. Emma was trying to be strong even though her heart felt like it was breaking apart into a thousand pieces.

Merlin winked at her and then kicked the horse into movement. Sascha's face scrunched up and she clung to the wizard tighter than before.

Emma could see Merlin fighting with the red head to ease up her grip and it made the teen smile. Graham looped an arm around Emma and kicked their horse into action and headed off in the opposite direction.

xxx

They had only been riding for about half an hour before Emma saw something following them out of the corner of her eye. She studied the trees to her left, eyeing everything over, waiting to catch a glimpse of it again. After a few moments she thought that her eyes must have played a trick on her. She turned her head forward again to look at the path ahead.

The horse suddenly reared up and pounded its front legs to the ground. Graham patted the horse's mane trying to calm the mare. "Hey girl, what's the matter?" He asked stroking her mane again.

There was a dark grey flash as a wolf dove out of the scrub and leaped at Emma, she screamed as she was knocked off the saddle. Graham tried to grab her before she fell, but wasn't fast enough to catch her in time. Both wolf and Emma tumbled to the ground.

Emma stumbled about trying to get to her feet but stopped moving when the wolf changed into a familiar dark haired nine year old.

"Red?! What the Hel are you doing, you could have badly hurt Emma!" Graham yelled at her as he slid off the saddle and helped Emma up off the ground.

Red's face sunk as she was scolded by Graham. She still had a habit of doing things before thinking and Granny would equally came down on her for it as well.

"Em, I'm so sorry, I thought you'd catch me." Red hurried up to the blonde and hugged her.

Graham huffed and stepped away from the girls to give them a moment together, then he would tell Red to head straight home before her grandmother found out she was gone. The hunter chewed the inside of his mouth at the thought of Granny booming at him for not sending Red back right away.

"Red, how did you know where I was?" Emma didn't get to say goodbye to either her or Granny, she didn't have time.

"We saw Graham in town while getting monthly supplies and Granny asked why he was buying two horses." Red saw Emma's amulet and started to play with it.

"I'm sorry Red, I wanted to say bye to you and Granny, but we had to pack and leave in a hurry." The blonde gave her friend a sad look. But then she smiled because she had been able to see her one last time, to say a goodbye.

"It's ok Emma. I can find you no matter where you go." Red said matter-of-factly and tapped at her nose with a finger. "I can smell you a mile away, stinky girl." Red chuckled, and then burst out into fits of laughter as Emma tickled her.

"You take that back!" The teen shouted.

Graham's forehead wrinkled as he waited impatiently and then looked about making sure nothing was sneaking up on them. He wanted to be out of this part of the woods before night fall, and they were losing precious time. He turned back to the girls and decided their time was up.

"Okay say your goodbyes now, we need to get going Emma." He checked the straps on the bags to buy them just a little more time for farewells.

Emma hugged Red, squeezing the poor girl tightly. They both started to laugh again as they fought each other in a match of who could hug the hardest.

Graham stepped in and lifted Emma back onto the saddle. Both of them groaned at him, and he ignored it.

"Go home Red, I'm sure Granny is worried about you." He said as he lifted himself up onto the saddle. He grabbed the reins and kicked the horse back into trotting down the beaten path.

Emma and Red waved to each other as they drifted further apart. The dark haired girl watched Emma slowly disappear into the woods.

"I will find you again Emma, this I swear." Red whispered and then shifted into a wolf to return home.

xxx

The night air made Emma shiver. She wrapped the woollen blanket around her body tighter trying to regain some warmth. "Why can't we have a fire Graham?" She said through chattering teeth.

"I already told you Emma, it would alert others to our whereabouts." He said facing away from her on the ground.

The two laid next to each other in the darkness of night. Graham didn't feel the cold so much, years of travelling and living in the vast amount of places had toughened him to such weather.

"Can I use magic to warm myself?" Emma asked, hoping he'd say yes.

Graham gave it a brief thought, but decided that it was probably best not to cast anything either. "No Emma, I don't think that would be a good idea." He closed his eyes trying to go back to sleep.

Emma turned onto her back and looked up at the stars in the sky. She wished she was at home, a warm fire burning away in the main room, and she would have a soft mattress to lie on, the lumpy ground beneath her made it difficult to fall asleep.

Off in the distance was a howl and Emma sat up. "Oh no Red must have followed us Graham!"

He turned onto his back and looked at the blonde. "That's not Red. It's an ordinary wolf, like the ones that hunt with me." He turned back on his side. "Don't worry about it the wolf won't hurt us, he's just looking for his pack. Now try to get some rest we have a lot of travelling to do so we need to be up very early."

Emma eased herself back down and pulled the blanket up to her chin. She returned looking at the stars and wondered if her grandfather was looking at the same stars as she was. She played with her amulet and eventually slipped into slumber.

* * *

"You saved my job mother, if you didn't have that book I would have surely been demoted at the castle." Tink sliced a piece of cheese off the wheel and placed in on a slice of bread.

Tink's mother smiled at her. "Oh my dear girl, you should have asked me in the first place, why you bothered with the bookstores in the city I have no idea." The old woman lifted herself off the seat and leaned onto her cane for support.

"Mother sit down, I'll get the jug." Tink gave her mother a stern look and collected the jug of milk off the shelf to place in onto the table.

"I'm not completely lame my dear, I can handle myself well enough." Tink's mother argued back. She disliked to be waited on hand and foot, it made her feel useless.

"Yes well you know when I visit I am the one who treats you to a day of rest." The young woman went back to the shelf to grab a tomato and a few stripes of lettuce from the basket.

Tink visited her mother once a week to make sure she was ok and to give her some gold. Since her mother wasn't able to financially support herself anymore Tink had taken it upon herself to make sure she could.

It was by pure luck that Tink got the position of the princess's handmaiden in the first place. She had been at the castle for the job of a cleaner in the kitchen, but was mixed up with another girl and made a handmaiden instead. Sometimes Tink thought the Gods looked upon her favourably for being a good person.

"You're too good for that princess. She doesn't deserve you as a handmaiden." Her mother postulated.

Tink rolled her eyes and placed her hand on top of her mother's. "Trust me mother she needs me, and she needs a friend as well."

"Humph! Phewy to that brat, I say!" Bits of food flew out of the old woman's mouth as she heatedly gave her opinion.

Tink frowned at her and wondered where she got her good manners from, because clearly her mother was currently absent of them.

"Hush mother, you're being cruel, and you have no idea what that poor girl goes through up there." Tink had met with Queen Cora a few times and could tell with a mother like that, it was no wonder Regina was cold towards others. In time Tink was sure she'd break through the wall of ice and they would become friends.

They sat quietly and continued to eat lunch. After Tink clean up the mess, she helped her mother over to a chair and started to clean the tiny house.

"Stop it! I won't have you clean my house." The old woman waved her cane about, but it did little good at stopping Tink from continuing to move things about.

"Mother please, I don't want to fight with you. I only get to see you once a week and I'd really like to have one visit were we just talk to each other and not argue."

The old woman gave in a watched her daughter move about the house. "I'm sorry, I just feel like I'm useless when you come to visit."

"You know that's not true." She swept the floor and brushed the dirt out the door. "Besides you looked after me for years, why shouldn't I at least repay you in kind, mother?" She turned to look at her mother, hoping it would not start another argument.

The old lady opened her mouth but then closed it. She shift in chair and then crossed her arms with a sulking look on her face.

"Mother" Tink said in a low tone. "Don't you dare start, you're the adult here, remember?" Tink smiled at her mother hoping she would stop being stubborn.

The old woman huffed and threw her arms up. "Tinkerbelle stop berating me, I am allowed to stew in my own misery." She slapped her arms down into her lap and grimaced at her daughter.

Tink peered back, ready to debate about how that was counterproductive, but decidedly let it go. Why bother? She thought. "Fine mother, do as you please." She said, continuing to finish up with the sweeping.

"I love you Tinker Bell." The old woman said in a small voice.

Tink smiled while placing the broom against the wall and walked across the room to give her mother a hug.

xxx

Regina scanned the translation again, and then once more before she angrily scrunched up the paper and threw it across the room of the library. The ball of paper bounced a few times on the red carpet and then settled next to a large shelf of books.

"What sort of sick joke is this?!" She hissed. "What sort of perverted person would send a falcon late at night to give me a message, which I'd have to translate, only to have the message say something like that?"

Regina leaned back on the leather bound chair and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She eyed the book of Runes Tinkerbelle gave her a day ago. The translation had been perfect, she had followed the exact lay out for each word into her language and each time she tried a different word it wouldn't make a lick of sense. No the translation was correct, it was the message that was messed up.

After a few moments of revulsion, Regina got up from the chair and retrieved the scrunched up translation. She tried to flatten it out on top of the long wooden table to read it once more.

_When all hope is lost,  
The Swan is destined to return,  
And sunder the tablet in two.  
The Princess of the West,  
The Swan of the North,  
They in coitus will join the lands as one,  
For she will bear the child of the Swan._

Regina ignited the paper and watched it gradually burn into ash. She was beyond angry, she had moved onto revenge. She picked up the original note and burnt it as well.

If this was a joke, then she hoped that whoever sent it was having a good laugh right now. For when she finds them, it will be that last time they'll ever do anything again.

* * *

**Hey ShadowCub, you asked if Merlin was one of Odin's ravens. He is not, and neither is Sascha for that matter.  
Merlin was the Giant Mimir in mythology and in some written stuff he (Mimir) is even speculated to be Odin's Uncle. I have for the purpose of this story made Mimir Odin's uncle and not a giant though.  
As for Sascha, she was the great warrior Scathach. I suggest looking these mythological characters on the internet for further reading, if you wish of course.**

**Thanks for the comments and for continuing to read my story. **

**And now I must return to writing the next instalment.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry I didn't get this done sooner. I've made it really long to make up for it though.  
**

**I hope you enjoy it.**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

Graham clung to Emma's shivering body as he kicked the horse again, willing it gallop faster. The animal's hooves pounded hard against ground, creating a new path in the untouched earth. Thick forest passed the hunter in a blur, causing his head to flick about maniacally, searching for the next opening for them to pass through.

Graham could feel his heart thudding against his chest, fear threatening to steal it away with each beat. He was afraid that Emma may die before they reached the grove, but he continually fought back the doubt that they'd not make it. The hunter needed to focus on the moment, he needed to act now and worry later.

The illness started to show itself when they finished traversing the marshlands. He thought it may have been due to the water they drank out of an offset pool in the marsh. The hunter made sure to boil it first, as he always did. So it made no sense at how he was unaffected and yet here she was, slipping in and out of consciousness.

The teen's symptoms varied from, her body aching all over, to her temperature changing from cold to hot in hours of each other. He'd never seen anything like it before, and wished desperately Merlin was here to tell him what to do.

"Hold on Emma, I swear to you we are almost there." He tucked her body closer to his core.

The hunter's brow creased as he thought of the only thing he could do at a time like this. Perhaps one of the gods of old was still out there, listening to their followers. He knew Merlin believed that some of them were still very much alive, and that they did indeed listen.

Placing his own doubts aside, Graham called upon the goddess Freyja. He knew the wizard followed her, so by default Emma would probably be watched over by the goddess as well.

"Oh All Mother, I need your help." He whispered. "Hear my words, this child is one of your own, please do not forsake her in this hour of need." He sighed, hoping above all hope his appeal wasn't falling on deaf ears, even if it felt like it had.

xxx

It had been almost an hour later of solid galloping before the mare broke out through the massive forestry of trees and into an open area. Graham searched the horizon to see a familiar thicket of oak trees only minutes away. With new found enthusiasm he kicked the chestnut coloured mare into one last burst of speed.

As they reached the destination, Graham forcefully pulled at the reins to slow the horse down, causing it to dig large chunks of grass and dirt up, before it came to a complete stop.

Graham slid down off the saddle and held Emma firmly while jogging towards the opening. "Druids!", "Druids!" He frantically called out, almost tripping in his haste.

A robed man about Graham's age appeared out of nothingness from the thicket and quickly approached him. Then another man, slightly younger, appeared shortly thereafter.

"Help her, please." He held Emma out for them to take.

The druids crossed and clasped their arms together to make a human sling. Graham lifted Emma up and placed her down in between them.

"We'll take her to the healer's roundhouse, Hunter." The druid around Graham's age said and then they both strode away, back into the thicket and vanished.

Graham quickly turned around and ran back to check on the mare. The poor beast was breathing loudly from being made to continuously travel at full speed. The hunter pulled off the bags and started to unsaddle the horse. He wanted to free it from any burdens so it could rest easier.

As he started unstrapping the leather belts he could hear his name being called. The hunter glanced to his side to see someone approaching him, but continued with his actions.

"Graham! Graham is that you?" A young man in a copper coloured leather tunic with dark brown trousers and fur boots strode towards the hunter. His sandy coloured shoulder length hair hung freely, faming his face as he grinned and waved a hand at the hunter trying to catch his attention.

"Warren?" Graham pulled the saddle clear off the horse and held onto it while turning to face his friend. Warren must have grown a foot taller since his last visit, he thought.

Warren greeted the hunter with an even broader grin than before. "Long time no see Graham."

He stuck his hand out for the hunter to take, his light brown eyes sparking with joy to see him again.

Graham eyed the hand and then looked at Warren's face, lifting up the saddle to show the hunter's hands were clearly full at this moment.

The young druid gasped at his own foolishness and chuckled. "Oh damn, I'm sorry, here let me take that, and then you can take your bags." The druid hastily grabbed the saddle and fiddle with it a few times trying to find a comfortable position to hold onto it.

"So how long are you back for, this time?" Warren always had a cheery disposition towards Graham. He looked up to the hunter, and wished he could be one himself, someday.

Graham eyed the druid and then bent down and picked up both bags. As the hunter straightened himself up he turned to look back at Warren, frowning. "I actually don't know the answer to that question." He tried to smile at his friend, but worry was all he could feel at the moment, his thoughts were on Emma's health.

Warren frowned at the hunter, his friends demeanour was not his usual calm self. "Wait, what's wrong?" He asked, taking a step closer.

Graham sighed and held tightly to the bags. "You didn't see the other two druids carrying a body into the camp? Don't tell me you actually missed that Warren?" Graham was having a slight dig at him. He tended to do it when stress was high.

Warren gave him an indignant look. "Yes of course I did, and that was going to my next question, who's the blonde kid?" He fumbled with the now heavy saddle to get it comfortable once more.

Graham noticed the druid was becoming tired and started to head towards the magic barrier. The druid fell beside him as they walked together.

"She's Merlin's granddaughter, and she will being staying here until he is able to come get her." The hunter tried to keep his voice cool. He didn't want Warren to know he was freaking out about Emma.

"Oh wow, Head Drui Myrddin's got family?!" Warren didn't mean to sound so surprised, even if he was.

The air around them buckled as they passed through the magical barrier beyond the circular thicket of huge oak trees. Graham flicked his head back to see the ripples roll across the translucent barrier, and continued to watch as the waves travelled half way over his head and then melted into nothingness.

No matter how many times he had been to the Grove, the magic barrier always struck him with awe. You could see all around you from inside the barrier, but if you were on the outside of it you couldn't see a thing, it looked like a bunch of ordinary oaks and beyond that were more woods.

The barrier was created to hide the people within the camp from the outside world. It was a safe haven for students and teachers to practice in peace. The Wyrmspine Mountains laid about a full days ride further on before you reached the foot of it, beyond the Drui Woods.

Dangerous creatures lived out here and it was in everyone's best interest to have the barrier on all times. He'd never come across anything deadly before, only heard stories about creatures, and that Stuhac incident with Merlin.

Graham would bring supplies to them now and again, just things they couldn't make or grow. The druids were very self-sufficient people over all. The hunter bit the inside of his mouth as he remembered how he left abruptly last time. His face started to grimace at how a certain female would react to seeing him again. The hunter honestly didn't mean to just up and leave in the dead of night…

Graham was quickly drawn away from his thoughts as Warren continued to talk.

"I thought Myrddin was this mystical loner from the mountain. But I guess people can always surprise you, hey Graham?" He grinned at the hunter.

Graham finally caved into his friend's cheerfulness and gave him a small smile back. He looked around the camp to see it had also grown from the last time he visited. There were at least five more roundhouses and the cattle had doubled from where he could see them.

"Did you guys get more students in the last year?" The hunter asked. He was trying to not fret about Emma. He knew she would be in good hands… Okay he would just put their stuff in a visitor's roundhouse and check on her right away.

"Hey, Graham, are you listening to me?" Warren tried to look at the hunter as he spoke, but he was losing a battle with holding the now very heavy saddle in his arms.

"No, sorry Warren, I was deep in thought. Could you repeat what you were saying?" The hunter slung his and Emma's bag on his back to free a hand to help the druid with the saddle.

"I said, yes." Warren huffed and then grinned at Graham for the extra help.

xxx

Emma watched, in candle light, as two robed men prepared a set of clay bowls on an elongated table. They moved back and forth as if they had done this dance many times before. She wasn't sure if they were the ones who carried her in. To her, everybody seemed to look about the same except for the different coloured garments.

No longer able to watch both of them, for it made her stomach turn, she focused on the man in the vermillion robe. He was placing something down that looked like a rolled up piece of leather the length of her forearm onto the table. She wondered what it was for.

There was a burst of light as the flap to the entrance was pushed aside. It stung Emma's eyes, so she looked away with a growl. What was going on, where was Graham? She suddenly thought.

"Thank you fellow Drui brothers, please leave this child to my care."

The woman's voice was soft and caring. It completely relaxed Emma at hearing the calm tone, it made her felt safe. The blonde rolled her head around looking to find its source.

The woman walked to the table and unrolled the leather square. It had an array of instruments strapped down to it. She waved a finger over them, making sure they were all there. Satisfied with the arrangement she turned to the various sized bowls, eyeing them briefly, and then picked up a small sheet of cloth to the far end of the table.

Emma watched on, shivering, but hopeful that this woman would make her feel better. She wanted to ask who she was, to ask what was going on, but Emma was far too tired to do anything except shake. So she just studied her instead.

The woman wore a long robe. Similar to the ones her grandfather wore at times. It was dark red, darker than other two men's robes, and at the shoulders it looked like it had leather knots. She frowned at the sight, but then shifted her eyes further down to see she had a simple tanned coloured belt high on her waist, with a small pouch attached to it. Emma turned her body slightly to see the woman's footwear. It looked like a flap of leather at the bottom and it had laces of leather wove around her ankle. Emma guessed the leather laces is what held the strange shoes to the woman's feet.

A sudden wave of chill struck the girl and made her lie back. Emma turned her head to keep watching though. It was hard to make out the woman's hair colour or face, the room only had two candles that she could see. In fact she couldn't really tell if the room was a circle or square. But she was sure it was made from wood, its familiar odour permeated her nostrils. It reminded her briefly of home.

The woman dipped the cloth into the bowl and let it go. She turned around and walked to the bed to examine the blonde.

"Hello child, I am Bendrui Wynnfrith, I will need to perform a few tests on you to determine what is causing your sickness." She leaned down and helped lift Emma up to a sitting position, and then started to undo her belt, pulling away and placing on the end of the mattress. She then snaked her fingers under the teen's deep blue tunic to pull it off her.

Emma shot her a look of surprise. It was not lost on Wynnfrith. She reassured the girl that it was ok, that it needed to be done so she could get a better look at her body for cuts, bites, and other things. Emma let her head flop forward a few times to agree with the druids actions.

Wynnfrith lifted the sweat soaked tunic over Emma's head and threw it into a basket not far away from the bed. She was about to help the girl take her tights off but heard someone out near the front of the roundhouse.

Suddenly the flap moved aside, bringing light back into the darkened room, as Graham tried to enter. He didn't get very far as he was met with the butt end of a staff. It was planted to middle of his chest and on the other end was a very angry face. Graham's eyes widened as he recognised her. He stared, running his eyes over her beautiful features. Wynnfrith had her burgundy coloured hair tied up into a bun, and her olive green eyes burned into him the longer he gazed.

"Leave this shelter at once, Hunter." Wynnfrith's voice was flinty towards the intruder. No man was to set foot into the healer's shelter when there was a female patient. Plus she was still quite upset with Graham.

The hunter bent his arms up at his elbows, with palms open, showing he wasn't a threat, and slowly backed out of the entrance as the she pushed him firmly on.

Wynnfrith gave him a slight shove with the staff to make her point very clear and spun around to enter the roundhouse. Graham with his hands still up blinked a few times and then snapped back to the present as he heard Warren laughing not far off. The druid had retrieved the mare and was taking it to the stables as he happen the see the exchange between the two.

Graham dropped his arms and sighed loudly. She's still pissed at me, he thought, as he walked off to follow Warren and the mare.

Wynnfrith peeked through a slit in the dark leather flap and then went back to the child, satisfied Graham would not enter again. She continued to undress the sick girl and threw the rest of the damp clothes into the basket. Once it was done, she laid Emma back down and bent over to speak to her.

"When did you last eat or drink, child?" Wynnfrith asked.

Emma's eyes were half open and she was finding it hard to stay awake, but she was going to try her best to at least give this druid her name before she felt like passing out.

"Emma." She said breathlessly.

Wynnfrith frowned at her, "Is that your name child?" She slid a finger across the girl's head to move some of the loose strands of hair stuck to her sweaty face. Her temperature must be running high, the bendrui thought. Wynnfrith felt a little silly for not asking the child's name in the first place.

"Yes… my name… is... Emma." The blonde tried her best to talk, but it felt like there were prickles in her mouth, causing it sting with every word.

Wynnfrith placed her hands around Emma's chest and asked her to breath in and out at a certain time. The bendrui checked to see if fluid had built up in the lungs, but it felt normal. Wynnfrith then moved onto her throat and felt for any abnormal lumps, but there were none.

"That's good, now I need to see inside your mouth." Wynnfrith turned and reached for a lit candle on a shelf and then bent down to bring it close to the blonde's face, "Can you open your mouth for me please." She waited as the girl slowly brought her jaw down.

"Okay, now I need you to stick your tongue out for me, please." Wynnfrith looked into Emma's mouth, but there was not discolouration or unnatural growths. She sniffed the air that Emma was exhaling. There was a slight odour, but nothing out of place. The bendrui huffed with frustration.

Her voice was calm though, as she spoke. "Dear Emma, you are going to be a challenge, but I will find out what is wrong and heal you of it."

She placed the candle up on the shelf and glanced back at the child. What could be making Emma sick? The bendrui was going to have her work cut out, it was only early in the afternoon and she knew this could go well into the night. Her sisters would help though when they finished eating.

Wynnfrith turned her attention towards the bowl that contained the cloth piece to see if had fully soaked up enough water. She strained it out and placed it on Emma's forehead to help drop the rising temperature.

Emma sighed at the coolness the damp cloth brought. She closed her eyes and tried to rest.

* * *

Regina threw another fireball at the dummy, and then another. She repeatedly threw fireballs until she expended all the anger she could on the mannequin.

Regina was still upset about the note, and now she was going to train doubly hard to make sure she was strong enough to destroy the person who conceived it.

This added enthusiasm did not go unnoticed by Maleficent. The sorceress glanced at the upper circle where the Queen sat, and as she did a well-dressed servant was whispering something in Cora's ear. Maleficent looked away, avoiding a glare from the Queen in case she caught her prying.

The sorceress wasn't sure why the Queen wanted Regina practicing at night as well. Wasn't it enough that she was doing it in the afternoon three days of the week? She quickly glanced at the upper circle to see the Queen leaving.

Once Maleficent was sure the Queen had full left, she decided to ask what was causing the princess to be so agitated.

"Regina you seem to be a little _tense_ tonight, is there something wrong?" There was no venom in the sorceress's tone, as she was genuinely concerned.

Regina was a little taken back by the question and the sincerity of Maleficent's voice. She eyed her briefly, analysing whether it was possibly a trick on her part.

Regina peered up to see if her mother was watching, but the Queen was not there. The brunette frowned slightly. Her mother was not one to miss any of her lessons, but it must have been something important, more important than her at least. The princess's shoulders slumped.

"Regina?" Maleficent took a step towards the princess, lifting a hand, but she did not let it make contact.

Regina turned to stare at the sorceress, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Why would you care, why are you even trying to be pleasant with me?" The princess's voice was sharp towards Maleficent. It wasn't mean or disrespectful, just straight to the point.

Maleficent pursed her lips and lifted an eyebrow at her. "Contrary to what you may believe Regina, I am not the stone hearted witch you take me for." Maleficent's thin lips curled into a smile.

The princess recoiled slightly from the display of _friendliness_? Regina wasn't sure what Maleficent was doing.

"Don't play tricks with me, please. I really have no patience for it." She took a small step back to give them both some added space. Regina clasped her hands loosely in front of her, unsure what to do with them, as she wasn't using them to throw magic about.

Maleficent's face dropped marginally at the clear display of distrust. It was then she knew she had acted her part out too well. She was supposed to appear unapproachable, non-caring, and purely here to teach magic.

This was something she would have to fix over time. But while the Queen watched on, she had to continue this dance of deception. It would be these few rare chances alone with the princess she had to take advantage of.

"Regina, I don't want you to think I'm sort of horrible person. So I'm going to share something with you about myself to help-" She paused and flicked her hand at the princess and then back at herself. "Bridge this gap between us."

Regina watched Maleficent cautiously. She wasn't sure what caused the sorceress's mood to change, but just this once she would grant her the benefit of the doubt. Regina gave a slight nod for Maleficent to continue.

Maleficent waved a hand for the brunette to follow her while she spoke. "Do you know where I come from Princess?" She studied the brunette, as they walked closer to a window to their right, hoping that Cora had at least told Regina about that.

Regina pursed her lips. She knew exactly where the sorceress came from and how her mother said that she should respect her, for she was her teacher, even if she was a northerner.

"You're from beyond the boarder, and if my memory is correct, you're from the northern region." Regina was taught that those people, especially from the north, were barbaric and primitive in a lot of ways. She had read books about them, and on occasions heard a whisper or two of things they did.

Maleficent curled the corner of her lip up at the brunette's tone. She knew Regina was forcing herself to be polite. Everything she probably read or heard was mostly falsified and downright derogatory. But for now, she would grit her teeth and bear it all.

"Yes that is correct, and did you know that I had a castle? No, actually it was a fortress, if you want to get specific." Maleficent turned to face Regina. She smiled and then placed a hand on her hip.

Regina didn't say anything. The brunette just continued to stare at Maleficent, almost expressionless.

"You're probably wondering why this is of any importance. That you really couldn't care less about some witch from the north who lived in a fortress, but what you would fail to see, _Princess_, is that you and I are not as unalike as you would be lead to believe." Maleficent curled her fingers tighter around the gnarled staff and flicked her head towards the arched window, "Look out that window there, Regina."

The princess eyed Maleficent and hesitantly moved towards the opened window. Regina placed her hands on the ledge and peered out, but was puzzled at what the sorceress was getting at.

"What is it you wish for me to see?" she turned to give Maleficent a confused look.

Maleficent took a step forward to be beside the brunette, to look out the window together. Down below them was a massive city, sprawling out in all directions. The castle was high up on top of a mountain, above everything else. It was the pinnacle of power, and all who lived in it was revered as almost godly, as they were the ones who lived closest to the Gods.

"I use to live high up in my fortress. I use to have servants, maids, cooks, soldiers," She paused and gently placed her hand on Regina's shoulder, to catch the brunette's attention. Regina did not recoil from the contact, but lifted her head to eye Maleficent.

"And I now know what it is like to be a prisoner." The sorceress's face softened with the statement. She dearly wanted Regina to know how she felt, that the princess was not alone in her own castle. She could have a friend, or more.

Maleficent had to be hard on her for show, but when they could be alone, together, they could just be themselves. Two trapped souls in a castle, could find company if they wanted it.

Regina looked Maleficent in the eyes, searching for any inflection of deceit, but could sense none. The brunette lowered her eyes and peered back out the window, thinking on all that the sorceress had shared. Could Regina accept the foreigner's olive branch, could they become friends in secret?

Maleficent softly squeezed the brunette's shoulder. "The next move is yours Regina. It's up to you whether we will continue to talk in private." The sorceress hoped the princess was open enough to make the right judgement. Either way, Maleficent would respect her wishes.

Regina bit her lip, she was afraid to let anyone close. You could lose them if you did. She quickly peeked at the sorceress's hand on her shoulder and thought she could take a chance, she could let someone get to know her.

Then Regina thought of her handmaiden Tinker Bell, who constantly tried to please her, and all those agitating smiles she gave. No matter how displeased Regina acted towards the woman, she just kept coming back. Perhaps the brunette was making a terrible mistake by pushing someone away who generally wanted to be around her.

"I would like to talk to someone, in the quiet times when I am not busy." Regina turned her whole body to face Maleficent and gave the sorceress a small smile as she tucked a loose lock of long hair behind her ear.

Maleficent could tell there was more behind the brunette's words than what was directed at her. Perhaps Regina knew others, who tried to get to open up. But the sorceress wouldn't pry, as it would most likely cause the brunette to become defensive and they would be back at ground zero.

"Good." Maleficent held her elbow out for the princess to take.

Regina gingerly looped her arm through Maleficent's, and let the sorceress lead them both back into the middle of the room. It felt nice to have contact with another, even if her mind said it was weak to do so. But in that moment Regina's heart was telling her otherwise and she chose to listen to it instead.

The brunette started to smile unintentionally, and hoped that Tinker Bell would come to forgive her actions in time. Take things slowly Regina, she said to herself, take it one step at a time.

xxx

A cool breeze blew through the small mucronate shaped window, which caused the white falcon to ruffle itself out for warmth.

Maleficent glanced at the bird because of the sound it created. She stopped, staring to stare, not out of interest, but because she was deep in thought and it happened to be in her sights that second.

Maleficent looked away, a few moments later, and place two fingers to the bridge of her nose, to rub them up and down, relieving some of the pressure built there.

Her head had started to throb a short time ago from being over tired, but she still had a lot of writing to finish, and wouldn't allow a small nuisance like this to get in her way.

The falcon chirped as it noticed Maleficent was in pain, and so it called to her to see if she was ok.

The sorceress ignored the falcon and continued to scribble on the parchment. When she was finished with the sheet, the bird had moved itself closer into sorceress's line of sight. It bobbed its head around in a silent protest to get her attention. Maleficent took a deep breath and shot it a very displeased look.

"Honestly, do you have to bother me when I'm working?" She said in a steely tone. Maleficent really disliked the creature at times, but the falcon was important, and Freyja would kill her if she mistreated it.

'_I'm sorry I cared. Fuck!_' The falcon squawked, batting its wings out once and turned away from her.

Maleficent flicked her head up, eyes bulging at the curse word. The falcon however would not see her displeasing look, as it had placed its back to her for that very reason.

"I will ban you from seeing that barbaric girl if you keep up with that foul language." Maleficent was deadly serious. Ever since it was allowed to take messages back and forth from the temple in the north, it had started to swear like the sailors in the city port.

What would the All Mother think when she got her bird back, swearing and being completely disrespectful? Surely the sorceress would pay for it, and she was not about to let that happen.

'_I am sorry._' It ducked its head under a wing and eased it back to peer at the sorceress. It was trying its best to appear regretful.

Maleficent sighed at the creature, "Fine." She rolled her eyes and dipped her quill in the inkwell to finish the paper off. After this she could finally go to sleep. This very thought eased her body and put her mood into a lighter disposition.

The falcon settled itself to go to sleep and to avoid being scorned for something else.

The sorceress placed the quill down, not caring if it would make a mess, and rose from the chair, yawning. She walked to the window, looking out at the view from high up in the tower, and then closed the shutters.

Maleficent spun around and pulled the hair pin free from the back of her head. Long flaxen curls bounced at the unexpected release. She then undressed and slipped into a long cotton chemise. It felt so good to be out of that overdone dress, the thing was tight, and she found it hard to breathe in at times.

Maleficent had to wear the ridiculous dresses provided, regardless if she wanted to or not. Queen Cora picked out what was appropriate attire, and the sorceress was in no position to argue. The Queen could simply have her put to death if she disobeyed orders.

She sighed, feeling completely trapped. Maleficent had to remind herself that she was here for two reasons, one was because Freyja said that she would be taken, and should let it happen. That was a puzzle inside itself, which the Goddess gave her no answer for.

The second was obvious. The Queen wanted her to teach Regina the northern methods of spell casting. It was actually a brilliant idea, when one thought about it. What better way to know your enemies than to take on their techniques, only to use against them in battle.

Maleficent crawled into bed and flicked her hand to extinguish the candles in the tiny room, no longer allowing herself to think about others and their problems or reasons. She just wanted to rest.

* * *

Bendrui Wynnfrith pulled the strings on the shoulder of her robe to pull off the sleeves. Once they were both completely off, she put them neatly to one side of the table and washed her hands thoroughly.

Emma's fever hadn't broken yet and she needed to stay close to apply more cool cloths to the girl's body. It was like she and her sisters were fighting a losing battle.

But no matter how hot or cold Emma's body got, she didn't show any signs of weakening. This was the strangest thing the bendrui had ever seen in all her time as a healer.

The flap at the front of the roundhouse moved aside and Master Drui Cian entered. Wynnfrith could see that it was early in the morning now, as the first light was almost visible. She studied the old man, as he used his staff to feel out the room.

Master Drui Cian was blind so technically he could enter the shelter without invading the girl's privacy. In fact he was probably the only man able to enter when it was a female patient.

"So how is she doing?" Cian's voice was shaky, due to age. His ashen white robe swayed as he swung his staff straight out in front of him.

Wynnfrith dried her hands off and moved back to the bed to examine Emma, who was deeply asleep. Her temperature seemed to have eased back, but that could mean she was going to be cold again shortly.

"The fever refuses to break, and yet her body is able to take it. In all honesty I am completely stumped on this one." Wynnfrith eyed the amulet that Emma had around her neck, as it seemed to shimmer slightly from the rush light on the shelf near the bed.

"Well that is interesting, have you checked for bites or lesions?" He pointed his head towards an invisible spot next to the bendrui.

Wynnfrith rolled her eyes, as she clearly hadn't learnt her profession yesterday. "Of course, I've checked, and every other possible cause as well." She hesitated to say what she thought next, it was out of her expertise and that caused her great discomfort not know exactly what to do.

"The only thing that does come to mind is she's been cursed." Wynnfrith placed her hands on her hips and puffed to move her fringe away from her eyes.

"Hmmm, perhaps it is, and perhaps it is not." Cian pulled his staff to an upright position and lean against it slightly.

Wynnfrith rolled her eyes again. This was not helping, he was not helping.

"Master I do not wish to sound rude, but, your doubt and lack of information isn't going to solve this mystery any sooner." She walked over to the table and started to soak some more small sheets of cloth in the large clay bowl out of frustration.

Cian wheezed a chuckle at her statement, as he wasn't at all offended by her words. But he did need the healer to leave the room. There was something important the master had to do, and he preferred to do it in private.

"Bendrui Wynnfrith would you please leave the child to my care for some time, you need your rest." Cian said smoothly.

Wynnfrith sighed and took her sleeves from the table. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave Emma. She didn't want to see Graham. But he was right, she did need to sleep.

The bendrui nodded, and then cocked her head, realising that he couldn't see her nodding anyway. She gathered the rest of her things and left the roundhouse.

Cian waited until he could hear she was completely gone. Confident she wouldn't return, pulled away the strap of cloth along his face, revealing a pair of brilliant white eyes. He studied the room until they fell on Emma's body, seeing a light spectrum like no other.

Cian may have lost his normal sight, but his second sight worked just fine.

People gave off different types of rays, depending on who they were. It was a way for him to see others as their true selves. He didn't always have the second sight though. It was acquired after Myrddin tried to heal his blindness, it was something that took them both surprise when it developed.

The light Emma gave off was nothing he had witnessed before. It was a brilliant array of gold and silver tendrils, spiralling and tumbling around her. She was very fascinating to watch, but this did not bring him any closer to revealing her sickness.

Graham had caught him up to speed with everything, right up to the point of their arrival. He thought a Stuhac attack was very odd. But Emma would have not caught anything from it, so that possibility was eliminated. And her fever was not from bad water that the hunter gave her either.

There was no blackness surrounding her, anywhere, so it wasn't a curse as Wynnfrith suspected. The master frowned and bent over to look at what appeared to be a third layer to the gold and silver glow.

A tinge of blue shimmered close to the girl's skin, he pulled back trying to think over what it was. He had seen a similar colour on people who could shape-shift, but Emma's was slightly different.

Cian paced the roundhouse, and after several moments he snapped two fingers together. "Preparation of transformation!" He exclaimed. It was a rare thing to see, and he only knew of it from a book he read at the Temple of Lugh, before his blindness.

Emma wasn't sick. Her body was merely adapting its self to take on something new. Like a caterpillar, from a grub to a butterfly sort of transformation. She was changing into something new.

Cian place a finger over his cracked lips, intensely thinking about what kind of transformation the child was going to go through. She could be dangerous on one hand, or harmless on the other. Only time would truly give him the answer, his skills of second sight only provide the intermediate of a situation, and not the future.

Either way, Myrddin has a very special child in his possession, and she would be welcomed as a student for however long it was required of her, here in the Oak Grove of Druis.

He smiled and wrapped the cloth strap over his eyes, and then left the roundhouse to tell Graham that Emma would be fine in time, that it was nothing he had done that caused it. Wynnfrith would be a little more difficult to explain things to. A simple answer would not suffice, as she would hound him until he told her the whole truth. This is why she made such an accomplished healer.

xxx

It was about mid-afternoon the following day, when Emma sat up in bed, her fever completely gone. The blonde looked around the room, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. One candle burning at the other end of the room did little for her sight.

Once her eyes could make out certain objects, she decided to try and get out of the bed. Her body felt weak as she pulled the blanket away.

Emma was excited to be free of her fever, and wanted nothing more than to be back in the sunlight, if it was out.

Her body completely crumbled as it refused to respond to her whims. Emma rubbed her legs, grunting in pain and frustration of the situation.

The front flap was flung aside and a young woman with black hair entered abruptly. She left the flap open, allowing the outside light to enter the shelter.

"Emma? It is Emma, right?" The bendrui asked the child as she approached with haste. She heard Emma fall and was worried that the girl may have injured herself further.

Emma frowned and nodded. She wasn't familiar with this person, so she was slightly hesitant about her coming any closer. The blonde slapped a hand hard against the mattress and clung to it tightly, trying to pull herself up.

The young woman helped Emma back into the bed and pulled the covers up to the blonde's chest. The bendruis full lips curled into smiled.

"My, my, you had us healers very worried." She reached out and placed her hand on Emma's forehead "Here let me feel your temperature now." The bendrui smiled once more, pleased that the fever was gone.

"Oh my, where's my manners, honestly." The woman clapped her hands to her blushing cheeks and grinned.

"I'm Bendrui Keeva. I assist Bendrui Wynnfrith, well me and a few others actually." She flicked her hands about while speaking. "Sister Wynnfrith is going to be so pleased you are well now, she has been worried for days."

Emma watched the woman swing her arms when she spoke. It was nice actually, she sort of reminded the blonde of Sascha, when Sascha was a raven. Keeva's light red robes even swished about like giant wings. The display made Emma smirk.

Keeva spun around as she had wandered about the roundhouse, talking mostly to herself. "I will go at once and get her, but please while no one is here do not try to leave the bed again. Can you do this for me Emma?" Her eyes were pleading the blonde to accept the request.

Emma nodded. "I promise not to move." The teen's voice was raspy. She hadn't noticed how dry her mouth was until now. "May I have some water please?"

Keeva raced over to the table and picked up a pear shaped clay jug, and then poured some water into a similar coloured clay cup.

"Here you are. I will be back in a moment with Bendrui Wynnfrith." She was about to give it to Emma, but paused with a serious look. "Sip it slowly Emma, don't guzzle, no matter how much you wish to."

Keeva gently placed the cup into Emma's outreached hands, and waited for the girl to have a firm grip on it before letting it go.

The bendrui shot Emma a wide grin and darted out of the shelter.

She sipped the liquid lazily, letting it slid down her throat. It was the best thing she had had in days, until it reached the pit of her stomach. She placed the cup down, next to the bed and curled up on her side to relieve some of the pain in her gut.

Emma's green eyes fell on the entrance of the shelter, peering out at the sky. Her eyelids became heavy as she observed the gently drifting clouds, and then they fell completely shut.

* * *

The stench of herring made Sascha's stomach churn. "I can't stand that smell much longer." She exclaimed, partially sticking her tongue out to show her disgust.

Merlin eyed her briefly and then slid a hand in between the folds of his grey robe, pulling out a small vial. He popped the cork and handed it to Sascha.

"Here, sniff this. It should stop you feeling sick from the fish." He didn't look at her as she took the vial from him. The wizard was too busy watching a cargo ship docking at the port.

Sascha narrowed her eyes at the object and gingerly took the vial from the wizard's hand. She peered at the tiny bottle and then raised an eyebrow. Giving a shrug of why-not, she sniffed the bottle. The intense fragrance was almost worse than the stink of fish.

The redhead pulled the bottle far away from her face, gagging for fresh air, but couldn't from the fishy smell, invading her nostrils.

Merlin had to hold in a fit of laughter from the sight, placing a hand over his mouth to stop it from spilling out.

After a few moments of dry reaching, Sascha pushed the vial firmly into Merlin's chest.

"What the Hel is that!?" She asked nasally, pinching her nose to escape the odour.

Merlin let a chuckled escape his throat, and coughed instantly after, trying to cover it up. The wizard corked the tiny bottle and placed it back safely in his robes.

"It's Skunk glaze extraction." A massive grin spread across his face. It was safer than the hearty belly laugh he was going to give a few moments ago.

Sascha cast the wizard an indignant look. "That was a cruel joke, Merlin!"

His grin dropped to a smile. "But it worked though. You're not feeling sick from the smell of herring, are you?" He held his arms up slightly, expecting her to try to slap him.

The redhead leered and then turned away, hardened boots tapping along the planks as she headed towards the lodge. He wasn't worth getting irritable over. She was done with Merlin's sense humour, she was done with wearing bloody footwear, and she done with the wretched barrels of stench infested produce.

Merlin smirked as he turned in the other direction and descended the rickety steps leading towards the docked ship. The wizard used the wooden railing as a guide, noticing the steps were slightly slippery from the spray of the ocean. It was mostly a clear afternoon, the sun warmed his old bones, but the salt in the air made his facial hair frizz out. The wizard tucked his long beard into his collar, not caring if he appeared odd because it.

Once he traversed the twists and turns of the pier, he waited beside the ships docking plank to greet the captain, or anyone that could get the captain for him.

He silently hoped Sascha and himself could be passengers aboard the cargo ship. The Island of the Gods would be another two weeks sail from Lyngbakr Harbour. And it didn't seem like any other vessel was going to be docking or leaving anytime soon. Guessing by the size of this ship, it would take until tomorrow for it to be ready to set sail.

"Ya mind not standin' in me way mate." A rather weathered crew member drawled, as he rolled a wooden barrel past the wizard, nearly knocking him over.

Merlin collected some of his robes and pulled them close to his body as he stepped out of the man's way. "Oh pardon me, I didn't mean -"

"Whatcha bleedin' want anyhow?" The man slapped a large hand down on the barrel, bringing it to a sudden stop. He eyed the wizard, bushy brows drawn together in a menacing manner.

Merlin straightened, giving a sense of air that he wasn't someone to be easily intimidated. "I wish to see your captain, mister?" The wizard turned his hand over in question to the fellow's name.

The sailor scoffed at the gesture and pushed the barrel into movement again, down along the wharf. He peered back at the wizard, half way up the docking plank and chuckled, shaking his head from side to side, continuing to load the barrel onto the ship.

Merlin couldn't understand what he had done wrong. Perhaps it was his beard tucked into his collar, or the fact he was hundred-something year old man sizing up a sailor? Either way he thought about it, he knew it wasn't going get him that ship any faster.

Against his better judgement, Merlin was going to take the direct approach, striding up the plank and onto the ship.

The sailors bustled about, loading crates here and there. Merlin sidestepped a number of crew members, each of them shooting looks of puzzlement at his presence, but he ignored them making a bee line for the captain's cabin.

Merlin stopped at the door, hearing yelling from beyond wooden wall. He leaned up against it and listened to the muffled words between, what he could make out, two individuals.

As the heated conversation came to an end, the door was swung open and the wizard was shoved aside by a towering burly man, he stood almost half a foot taller than him.

"Don't bother with that sea bitch, she ain't trafficking what you got." The bulky man muttered at Merlin while moving him. He then strode off the ship and headed towards the lodge on the mainland.

The wizard collected himself after the abrupt hustle and smoothed out his robes. As he turned to enquire about possible passage on the ship, he was struck in the face with a delicate hand.

"And don't come back pushing you're garbage on me!" The female captain yelled, flinging her hand out in protest.

As she noticed her blunder, backhanding the old man in the face, she quickly turned to him, apologising. "Oh my gosh! please forgive me, I didn't see you -" She paused not knowing who he was. "Wait, who are you? And what are doing on my ship!" Her brief regret at hitting him had vanished, as her voice rose in anger at his unwanted presence.

Merlin jerked his head back, surprised by her rapid change in disposition towards him. How was he supposed to get on her good side if she clearly didn't welcome people aboard her vessel? He went to stroke his beard, but his hand slid down his chest instead. The wizard had forgotten that he tucked his beard into his collar earlier.

The captained eyed him, looking confused. "Look I don't know who you are, or what you want. But I need you to get off my ship, before one of my lads does it for you." She cocked her head at him while firmly gripping her cutlass, as added incentive for to get off the ship.

Merlin glanced at the weapon and then back to her face. She was very attractive woman, if he was honest with himself. Long dark curls and braids tumbled around her face, while her bright grey eyes bore into him. He thought she would have to be in her early thirties, a few lines showing the passage of time she must have fared through.

The wizard would have studied her more, but was grabbed from behind and carried off towards the docking plank. The captain smiling at his forced departure.

"Wait, I wish for passage on your ship, Captain!" Merlin managed to call out, as he was man handled closer to the plank.

The captain laughed, placing both hands on her hips, as she strode towards him.

"What on Woden's planet makes you think I would allow a decrepit man, as yourself, onto my magnificent vessel?" She asked in a demeaning tone, coming to stop a few feet away from him.

Merlin struggled from the tight grip the crew member had on him. "I think having this decrepit man on your ship would be to your advantage, my lady. I'm quite useful." He tried to convince her of his worth, but felt it wasn't going to be by gold. Power was what he needed.

Another bout of sarcastic laughter escaped the brunette's lips, as she threw her head back in a mocking fashion, dark brown locks bouncing.

Once done she bent her head back to eye him. "I think I may just keep you around for laughs, and then when I'm tired of your weathered face, I'll drop you somewhere out in the middle of the ocean." She tilted her head to the side with a smirk, a loose braid moved with the action.

"I think there would be a many a person who would miss Merlin, High Wizard of Men." He said, a smile creeping across his face.

The captain frowned at him, and then eased back her face with a smile equal to his. "You honestly think I'd believe you'd be the legendary Merlin?" She scoffed at him, and then her features became steely. "Everyone knows He's been dead for years, so you can't fool me, old man." The captain gripped her cutlass tighter than before, clearly showing his time conversing with her was coming to an end.

Merlin darted his eyes to the right, thinking about the sailor, and then to the left to look at the captain. He was making a split decision on whether to show her who he was. It could go either way, she could believe him, or attack him out of fear. The captain seemed on edge enough to perform the latter.

He took a deep breath at making up his mind. "It was all rumours." He uttered.

The wizard flicked his right hand back, digging his fingers into the sailor's side. A large flash of light exploded, as the man was propelled back, sliding along the ship's waist to impact with the gunwale. A few crew members went to check if he was badly injured, and then helped him to his feet.

Merlin straightened himself out and adjusted his robes, twisting his belt back into place when he was done. The wizard folded his arms in front of him, peering back at the wide eyed captain.

Her mouth hung slightly open, eyes frozen in place. She let go of her cutlass and took a step towards him, mouth finally closing.

"I thought you were dead?" The captain's brows rose in surprise. "How are you alive, after the incident with the Titan?" Her hands turning upwards in question, taking another step to come almost within arm's reach of him.

Merlin chuckled. "My dear, I wouldn't be titled with High Wizard if a titan could kill me." He smiled at her, finally knowing he'd successfully proven who he was. "Oh, by the way, my lady, I didn't catch your name?" The wizard quickly added.

Ignoring him, she edged her head to the side to eye her crew as they weren't moving about, distracted by the conversation going on in front of them. "Get back to work you damn sea dogs!" She barked,

Merlin taking the opportunity of her sudden diversion, finished inspecting the captain's attire. Knee length brown leather boots blended well with the almost equally coloured leather pants she wore. A black near see through long sleeved shirt could be seen underneath her extensively red detailed bodice, belt buckled to the front. He couldn't avoid the exposed cleavage, quickly looking at the large red amulet hanging from her neck. He paused at the sight, quickly thinking her uniform was less of a freighter captain, and more that of a pirate.

Had he wandered onto a pirate's ship, mistaking it for a simple cargo vessel?

"See something you like Merlin?" She asked in a seductively mocking tone.

He snapped his eyes from looking at her amulet, appearing to be checking out her bust. The wizard shifted slightly, looking away from her gaze. "My lady I am not interested in you in that manner. In honesty my heart lies with another." He turned his eyes back to look at her. "But that's not important. I still wish to know your name, which you seem to be avoiding telling me." He narrowed his eyes.

She looked down at the floor of the ship, and then slowly returned her gaze to the wizard. "I'm Captain -" She hesitated before answering him. "Captain Milah."

Merlin raised a single eyebrow. His suspicion of her being a pirate was now completely affirmed, Milah wasn't just some pirate though. She was the Pirate Queen, and this was her ship the Baelfire.

* * *

**Thank you all for still reading this stuff.**

**Ardenwood - I nearly spat my coffee at the laptop screen when you said you hoped Emma would learn how to fight bare knuckles. Are you a mind reader or what?! Yeah she does, eventually.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I have to be honest with everyone, I've been sitting on this chapter for about two days (I know that's selfish of me), but with good reason.  
I was contemplating whether I should keep going on with this story... I was seriously gonna scrap it all.  
**

**Cos here's the thing, I want to write something that is rich with characters and develop them on a huge journey in this fantasy world. And I know this isn't the typical fluff SQ story, (there are so many of them and I binge read them myself), but I wanted to try my hand at something very different, and really challenge that norm.  
**

**So if a slow built story is not you're thing, I will understand if you unfollow it. However I do want to ****thank everyone who continues to read it, and I mean that, _thank you_. I have decided to keep going for the people who do enjoy it, because**** each one of you deserve to know how it ends.**

**_I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time._**

* * *

_"__Emma have I ever told you what the strongest element to casting magic was, the strongest element for everything actually?"_

_"__No Opa, you have never told me." _

_"__Love Emma, love is the most powerful element." _

_"__Love is strength."_

Emma opened her eyes, half dazed from the dream. The words of her grandfather echoing in her mind as she shifted about under the warm blanket. She closed her eyes to try to recapture his words, but it was too late the dream was gone, and his voice faded to nothingness.

"You're awake! Emma's awake!"

Emma flipped her head to the side, expecting to see Wynnfrith or Keeva, but instead was greeted by a rather dirty grinning face. The girl's round features displayed a variety of black marks on her cheeks and chin. Emma couldn't make out what sort of dirt could possibly be so dark in colour, as her sight was still focusing.

"Did she die?" A small voice asked from behind the dirty faced girl.

Emma sat up and leaned to her left. A tiny girl stared back at her, wide eyed. Emma thought the child couldn't be older than five.

The soiled face girl rolled her bright green eyes at the comment and placed her hand on top of the tiny girl's head. "Don't be stupid, of course she didn't die! Look she's right there."

The small child hid herself behind the other girl, shielding Emma's eyes from studying her completely.

"I'm Aednat, and this little chicken here is Beagan, she's shy." Aednat took a small step to the side. Her hand still placed on top of Beagan's head, and then moved it away from her to pull a loose piece of leather string looped on her belt. Aednat tied her frizzy dark orange hair back with a smile.

The blonde looked at them both. She studied the tiny girl first, who wore an oversized brown tunic and no shoes. Beagan's hair was a motley colour of browns, and her big dark blue eyes darted about, avoiding Emma's gaze. After a moment the tiny girl walked away to a bed in the roundhouse and climbed up onto it.

Emma brought her eyes back to look at Aednat. "This isn't the same place I fell asleep in, is it?" The blonde was slightly confused. She didn't remember walking or being carried to another shelter.

"Oh you were brought in last night. We all tried to be quiet while you slept. Chicken over there thought you'd died, and I kept telling her not to be silly…" Aednat continued to talk, but Emma wasn't listening any more, as she was thinking about the amount of time that had passed since her arrival.

"Wait, how long have I been asleep, I mean how many days have I been here in the grove?" Emma tightened her grip on the blanket and leaned closer to the orange haired girl.

Aednat darted her eyes towards Beagan and then back at Emma. "Um I think you've been here for, like, two and a bit days?" Her voice strained at the end, she wasn't sure about the exact time. "Oh but its morning now and you should eat something." Aednat added with a smile.

Emma's stomach growled at the advice, but her mind was in another place. "Where is Graham, where is the Hunter?"

The tiny girl was peering out the thatched window when she cried out, cutting off Aednat's reply.

"Aeslin's coming!" Beagan turned her head to face both Aednat and Emma, eyes wide again. She jumped off her bed and nimbly moved to hide behind the orange haired girl.

Emma pulled the blanket off her and tried to stand, but didn't get far as the front door swung open. A tall slender girl walked in, her dark hair braid to the right side, dangled down and over a shoulder. She moved as if she owned the living space and stopped at the bed to Emma's left.

"Unpacked your things yet?" The brunette asked as she bent down to open the truck at the foot of the bed. Pulling the top back and plunging her hand into it. She didn't look at Emma as she rummaged around.

Emma sat back down on the bed and then looked at Aednat, Beagan was hiding behind her. She returned her gaze to the brunette, unsure if this person was friendly or not.

"I haven't been awake long enough." Emma fidgeted. She suddenly felt that she had to smooth out the blanket on the bed, to make the area neat. This urge confused her slightly.

"Well you better eat something first." The brunette slammed the truck lid down and rose to walk away. She didn't look at Emma though. "You can unpack your things after you're done eating." She added, walking towards the front door. Aeslin placed her hand on the handle and turned to look at Emma. "Our first lesson starts in an hour, if I was you, I'd hurry up." She pushed the door open and left, banging it closed behind her.

Emma eyed the closed door for a moment, unsure what to make of the tall girl.

"Seriously don't worry about her. Aeslin's just weird around new people. There are only a few girls who live at the Grove, and most of the students here are boys. But she's okay, when you get to know her." Aednat said, moving away from Beagan. "Don't be a baby, chicken. Act your age, not your size." She gave the tiny girl a stern look, but then eased it back almost instantly. "You know what I mean." And then shot her hand out and ruffled Beagan's hair.

Emma got up and tidied the bed. She looked around for her bag, and then dropped to her knee's to search under the bed frame.

"Here, your stuff is in the wardrobe." Aednat rushed towards it, pulling the doors open and pushing aside a few things to find the leather bag. "Um, you should probably help me, it's kind of heavy." She pulled at the straps, sliding the bag out and off the bottom shelf. Aednat struggled with it but continued trying to lift it up unsuccessfully.

The blonde walked over and stopped the girl from her actions. "It's okay, I got it, thank you." Emma gave her a smile and hauled the leather container over her shoulder.

Beagan went to Emma's bed and opened the trunk, being helpful. "Your stuff goes in here." She said while looking up the blonde. Emma shot her a quick smile, thanking her in silence.

The teen threw the bag onto the bed and undid the straps, once opened she pulled out various items. Tunics, tights, shirts, undergarments, but abruptly stopped when she found her baby blanket. As the blonde scooped it out, she held the blanket close to her chest, closing her eyes and smelling its fragrance. As she continued to hug it, an object fell from its hiding place in the folds and plopped onto the bed soundlessly.

Beagan flew to the object and examined it. "It's a dolly." The tiny girl stroked its collection of thin cloth strips for hair. Emma quickly looked at her, still clinging to the blanket. She shot her hand and grabbed the doll and pulled it back possessively.

Aednat watched, surprised by the blonde's actions and stepped in to stop Beagan from almost certainly crying. The doll must mean a lot to Emma, and Beagan was only seven, she didn't realise that touching other people's items can have a negative reaction, even if it seemed innocent.

"Chicken you shouldn't touch other people's things, you know that." Aednat placed her hand on the girl's head and gave her a caring look. She could see the tiny girl's eye's start to water.

Emma felt a wave of guilt as she realised what she had done. The teen didn't mean to appear selfish. It was the doll her grandfather made when she was a child. It was something important to her.

Emma looked at the doll, its weathered body showing years of handling. A few loose strands of thread here and there from hours of play time.

She suddenly felt the amulet hanging around her neck. It was another thing that her grandfather had given her. It was something she could always carry. It would always be with her. The teen sighed, she had the amulet and the doll wasn't exactly age appropriate any more, it however be loved again if she gave it to the tiny girl.

"Here you can have it Beagan, I'm sorry I just–it means– it meant a lot to me, and well I have other things that I can hold on to. You'll probably like it just as much as I did, if not more." Emma let go of the doll when the tiny girl took it gently from her hand. Beagan's big dark blue eyes wide in amazement with the gift the blonde was giving her.

"What do you say chicken?" Aednat looked at Beagan, waiting.

"Thank you Emma, I promise to look after her." Beagan hugged the old doll tightly and walked off to her bed.

"She's only seven, so she's still going through that stage I guess. Not that I know kids, actually I'm still a kid when I think about it." Aednat face was confused from her own rambling. She looked at Emma, trying to get the blonde to understand.

"She's seven?!" Emma exclaimed. She thought the girl was five, at the most.

"Oh yeah, I know she looks small for her age hey, in fact that's what her name means." Aednat looked back at Beagan.

"Beagan means small one." She turned her head to face Emma. "And mine, Aednat, means fire." She added, giving a mischievous smile.

Emma eyed her for a moment. "I don't know what my name means. But my last name is Swan. My grandfather would call me little swan, but I wouldn't want to be called that for the rest of my life." She looked away from the orange haired girl, hiding the pain from the memory and continued to unpack her bag. Sascha was right, Emma thought. She shouldn't have lashed out at her grandfather like that.

Emma pulled out a few books next. But stopped to admire the book of Runes, remembering how she would groan at seeing it placed in front of her when Merlin would make her read it, continually. She was glad her grandfather packed it for her though.

Anther pang of sadness hit her. Merlin was so caring, even if he appeared a little strange and forgetful at times.

"You have books!" Aednat went to take one, to look at it closer, but hesitated. Unsure if Emma would react the same way she had over the doll. Aednat eyed the blonde, upturning a hand in question and tilting her head to the side. "Would you mind if I had a look at one?"

Emma tore herself away from her thoughts and nodded for the dirty faced girl to take a book. Aednat picked up a small red coloured tome and sniffed it.

"I miss that smell so much. We don't have books here for casual reading. So if you ever had them before, you will miss them." She smiled and then gently flipped it over inspecting the leather cover.

The front door to the roundhouse swung open and a red robe woman with similar coloured hair walked in. Her light brown eyes scanned the room and then stopped at the blonde. "Emma your awake, I'm so glad that you're ok. I hope you have rested well, I expect you're hungry though, you have a big day ahea-"

"She's just unpacking and then Beagan and I can take her to longhouse to eat." Aednat interrupted Bendrui Keeva. She knew the teacher had a habit of rambling. She just hoped it wasn't disrespectable enough to cause her trouble for speaking over the healer.

Bendrui Keeva gave Aednat a stern look for the interruption and moved to stand near Emma. The blonde collected her clothes and placed them into the truck at the foot of the bed.

"Er... Is this my bed, I'm not sure about where I'm supposed to sleep, I -" Emma paused and realised she didn't know anything about her situation, other than she was okay after the fever.

"Actually I have no idea what is going on, where is Graham, what do I do here, what will I do?" Emma's bottom lip quivered. She slumped down onto the bed, a few tears tumbling down her cheeks. Keeva swiftly sat beside the blonde and cradled her in her arms.

"It's going to be ok, you're just new to all this." She stroked the teen's hair. "You're at the Oak Grove of the Druis. Yes, this is your bed and you share the room with other students. I don't know where Graham is, but I will find out for you." The woman's voice was calm and caring, she wanted Emma to relax.

Aednat put the rest of Emma's things into the trunk and grabbed Beagan to leave the room. She felt it best if Emma had some time alone with the healer. That and she wasn't good at dealing with tears, it made her feel very uncomfortable.

"We'll see you later Emma. We're like a big family here, so you'll be okay." The orange haired girl turned and smiled at both of them, pulling Beagan along.

"Bye Emma." Beagan added as they left the roundhouse.

Emma sniffed and looked at the bendrui. "I'm sorry." She said in a small voice. The teen glanced around the room, distracting herself from crying again.

There were five beds, each bed head was pushed up against the wall, and they were laid out in a crescent form, due to the circular structure. Across from the beds were two wardrobes on each side, in the middle was the entrance to the shelter. Emma let her eyes drift about, not really taking much in anymore.

"You don't have to be sorry Emma. I would be surprised if you didn't feel lost, or confused. Just remember to breath, in and then out." The healer suggested.

Emma nodded and moved slightly away from the Keeva. She felt somewhat silly for crying briefly. "Thank you, I'll try to control myself more." She looked up at the bendrui and gave her a small smile.

"Okay, well I think the girls put the rest of your things away, so how about we get you something to eat?" The healer rose from the bed and waited for Emma to follow her actions.

"That sounds like a good idea." Emma slid her book of Runes under the pillow and accompanied Keeva out of the shelter.

xxx

There were three other students in the eating hall, as they were taking their time devouring breakfast before first class started. But at that moment they were all staring at Emma, who was at the upper end of the long wooden table, across from the healer.

"No way, look, that's her third bowl for sure." A young male said to other two. His dark brown eyes watching Emma spoon another mouthful of food.

"Where is she putting it all?" The second boy asked.

"Stop staring, you're going to make her feel awkward." The third male wrapped a hand around the boy's eyes beside him. "She doesn't want the sight of your ugly face when she's eating."

"Don't Faolan! I'm way better looking than you. And you're the one who shouldn't be exposing your ugly face to her." The blonde curly haired boy shoved Faolan and then grabbed at his friend's hand trying to twist it.

The jostle between the three went unnoticed as Emma finished her warm meal. She stacked the clay bowl onto the other two, and paused, unsure if she was still hungry. She waited for her stomach to tell her if it was, but it seemed ok now.

"Well you must have been starving. I don't think I have seen anyone eat that much after being sick. Actually, I shouldn't have let you do that. Bendrui Wynnfrith would scold me for being so careless. I bet she is going to scold me, I shouldn't -"

"I'm fine, Bendrui Keeva. Seriously, I'm fine." Emma reassured the healer that she was ok and wasn't going to be sick from wolfing down three bowls of stew. In fact Emma felt fantastic. It was like her body was different, more alert, stronger, and just over all _better_. May be it was from all the rest she got.

"So who are the three boys at the other end?" Emma quickly glanced at them, she noticed they were in a heated discussion, grabbing and pushing each other. She would have thought them to be fighting, if it wasn't for the grins on their faces.

"The one on the right, by himself is Belenos. He's sixteen this year, and loves to recite almost everything he has ever read." Keeva looked at the teen. She then shifted her eyes to the other side of the table. "The boy in the front the other is Caiside. He's the same age as Aednat actually, they are both eleven. He's mostly at his friend's sides, doing whatever they do. I suppose he see them as his bigger brothers."

Emma noticed Caiside's crystal blue eyes, they caught her attention instantly. She didn't think anyone's eyes could be that bright. As she stared at him, the boys caught on to her gaze and teased their friend.

"The last one, behind Caiside's is Faolan. He's eighteen and thinks that the old Gods should take back the world. Don't ask him about anything to do with the boarder. You'll be here until nightfall when he's done." Keeva told Emma, her voice went tight with the confession. She had once asked the young man about his thoughts on the Gods, and spent some time trying to end the conversation after hearing him passionately express his point of view.

Emma eyed them all, taking in the fact that they were students. That this place was a school and she would be learning things her grandfather was taught when he attended decades ago. She tried not to feel nostalgic about home and her family at that moment.

"So are you excited for your first lesson?" Keeva asked, grinning at the blonde.

"Hmmm, yes and no, I just feel sort of." Emma lifted her hand and waved it up and down. "Wibbly wobbly about everything still, you understand?" The blonde lowered her hand and stared at the healer.

Bendrui Keeva jerked her head back slightly unsure of what Emma was talking about, a confused look on her face. "What is _wibbly wobbly_?" she asked while mimicking the hand action.

"Oh it's a phrase Merlin would use to describe an unsure feeling about a situation." Emma wasn't comfortable saying he is her grandfather any more. They all seemed to know who he was and it made her feel out of place is she referred to him as her relative constantly. She didn't want any special treatment for it either, she may be related to a powerful wizard, but the blonde would prove her worth in her own way.

"I guess you learn something new every day, and so will you in a few minutes." Keeva rose from the table and collected the empty bowls. "Oh I nearly forgot! The different coloured robes symbolise different areas of training. Mine are red, which means I work in the healing area, the darker the colour the higher the teacher's knowledge is." She turned her head and looked at the other students. "Breakfast is over boys, I want to see you get up and go to the first lesson. Now please." Keeva's voice was slightly firm while giving the order. She turned her head back to look at Emma.

"Remember to breathe, in and out, if you feel anxious about anything. It's okay if you don't understand something, you can always ask for help. Follow the boys to your first lesson, and they'll help sort you out." She paused for a moment, and then leaned in slightly. "I also want you to enjoy yourself. This place isn't a prison Emma." She grinned at the teen and walked off towards the kitchen at the end of the hall. As she passed the students she told them to watch out for Emma and take her along with them.

The trio observed the blonde as they walked past, Belenos stopping to invite her to join them. Faolan whispered something to Caiside, causing the boy to elbow him in the side.

"So you're the girl who was sick, do you know what you had?" Caiside asked, flinging his right arm out to punch Faolan in the side because he giggled from the question.

Emma felt slightly claustrophobic with the guys being so close to her as they walked. "Um, I don't know, I just had a fever and now it's gone." She looked around at the different shaped shelters as they continued on, hoping it would distract her from the uneasy feeling rising in the pit of her stomach. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much, she thought.

Breathe Emma, in and out, she reminded herself.

Belenos lifted a finger. "You know I read a section in a book once about different types of fevers and the causes behind them, sometimes -"

"Oh by the Gods Belenos don't start, please. It's her first day here. You can torture the poor girl later on, when she's settled in." Faolan interrupted his friend.

Belenos shot Faolan a cold look at the comment and remained silent. He looped his thumbs over his belt, and sulked.

"The important thing is you're fine and it's a beautiful day, look at that sky." Faolan looked up and then turned his head to gaze at Emma. The blonde glanced at him and then at the sky. It was a nice day she guessed, but she still felt uneasy about them all being so close to her.

Caiside felt somewhat jealous of the interaction and spoke up about the first lesson. "We're doing boring stuff today, I bet. Drui Afallon will be in the orchard, teaching agriculture as usual."

"It's not boring Cais, you just don't understand what he says sometimes." Belenos remarked, rolling his dark eyes.

Emma quietly followed the trio as they continued to explain certain things to her, while also continuing to arguing with each other. She held back a smile, the display reminded her of a time when she saw a bunch of turkeys squabbling.

When all four of them arrived to the lecture, located in a field lined with different types of fruit bearing trees, the teacher was already talking to a small group of students. Amongst them were two faces Emma recognised from the sleeping quarters earlier.

Aednat and Aeslin stood next to each other, closer to the front of the crowd though. Emma wanted to stand with Aednat, not so much Aeslin, but she feared that doing it may offend the three fellows. So she stayed with them as they stood at the back of the group and listened to the teacher explain the different seasons effects on the trees growth rates.

xxx

Emma enjoyed her first day of instructions. It was interesting to learn so much about a lot of different subjects she didn't have a clue about before. Although her mind would keep wondering off to question where Graham was, and if he was still even at the grove. She hadn't seen him around all day.

The teen waited by the healer's shelter, hoping to catch Bendrui Keeva, as she was supposed to find out where he was for her.

"Can I help you child?" A man in vermillion robe asked Emma, causing her to spin around to face him.

"I was waiting for Bendrui Keeva or perhaps even Bendrui Wynnfrith. I have a very important question to ask." She replied in an urgent tone.

He eyed her for a moment and scratched the stubble on his face. "I think they might be at the Bear Shrine. But I, Drui Ninian, may be able to answer that question of yours though."

She wanted to wait for Keeva, but it was getting late. "Okay, I need to know where Graham the Hunter is. Please."

He frowned at the question and shuffled his feet. Then brought his other hand up to scratch his rough face again. It was a nervous tick that Emma would come to know in time.

"I'm really sorry to be the bearing of bad news, but he left late last night, and I'm guessing you're the Emma by that question. He had to leave apparently, something about a route of his needed him to be there. I actually have no idea what that man does honestly." His brown eyes darted away from her green ones as she stared at him in disbelief. "I'm really sorry, he didn't want to leave, but you were well again and he had his duties…" He stopped when he saw the teen's face gradually sink into a sad state.

Emma quickly thanked him and walked off towards the roundhouse where she was staying. Her slim legs moved with purpose, as her eyes started to water. She had hoped to at least say goodbye to him, she didn't even know if she would see Graham again, why did he leave? All she knew right now is that she needed to be somewhere away from prying eyes.

Once the teen reached the shelter and entered, she went straight to her trunk, flinging it open and grabbing her baby blanket. The smell eased her heartache and stopped her from crying about being all alone in a strange place. It was her comfort zone, her escape from reality.

Beagan wandered in shortly after Emma. The tiny girl saw the blonde race to the roundhouse and thought there was something wrong.

"Emma?" She asked in a small voice, gingerly walking towards the teen, unsure if it was okay to enter her space.

Emma gradually acknowledged Beagan's presence and invited her over with a nod. As she watched the child come closer, Emma thought of Red and how her friend was once so small. Another wave of loneliness hit the blonde, which made her narrow her grip on the blanket.

Beagan looked up at Emma, her eyes wide. She bit her lower lip wanting to ask if the teen was all right, but afraid to ask at the same time.

Emma could read the child's face. "I'm okay Beagan, I just miss home." She sat down on the corner of her bed, still holding the blanket.

"It's okay to miss family. I miss mine a lot too." The tiny girl climbed up next to Emma and leaned against the teen's side. She plopped a hand onto Emma's leg and patted it gently, and then lifted her head up to face her. "But we can be family now, and you have a new home." A smile grew on tiny girl's face, which made Emma feel less empty inside. She smiled back at the tiny girl and then hugged her. "Thank you Beagan, I hope we can become very good friends in time."

xxx

A month had passed by the time Emma received her first letter from Merlin, via an enchanted messenger pigeon, a normal pigeon wouldn't be aware of the camp, due to the magical barrier. On it Merlin wrote that by the time she got it that he and Sascha would be out at sea close to their destination.

Emma tried to imagine what the sea looked like. The blonde had read about it and seen drawings, but to actually see it would be an experience in itself. Sascha also wrote a short message under Merlin's. It was just a lot of random things, like how she hated fish and boots were bad, but it made her smile every time she read them.

The letter consisted of Merlin apologising a number of times about the arrangement but that he would do it again to keep Emma safe. That in time she may come to understand what it was like to keep someone safe when you loved them deeply. He also explained that when he was a student at the grove, and they referred to him as Myrddin, which meant Merlin. And if Emma wished to change her name while she was there, she could do so. Some student's liked to create a new image and would give themselves new names. He hoped to hear from her soon, and would send another letter when they were at the Island of the Gods. She thought about it, and decided that Swan would be an interesting change, but she was fine with Emma if the new name didn't sit well.

Emma wondered if Aednat had given herself her name, she did breathe fire, so it would make sense. The black marks Emma had seen on her face that morning, when she recovered from the mystery fever, was soot from showing Beagan the intensity at which she could heat something. While holding the item, ash collected on her finger tips and she must have at one point rubbed them against her face. The teen asked her how she could breathe fire, but Aednat didn't have a clue, it was something she was born with.

She also came to understand her place amongst the druids. Emma learnt that the word _Drui_ was a title for the male teachers and _Bendrui_ was for the title for females. And only teachers wore robes with sandals. Sometimes their belts would have a pouch or other containers hanging off them, which they used in lesson periods. But their attire was pretty simple.

Students on the other hand wore tunics with a under shirt, tights and wrapped shoes. They could have different colours, but brown was the main theme, usually. Each of them was given a thick belt and two pouches to put on it. A satchel was given as well. It was to be used when collecting plant samples for the Herbalist lessons.

Unfortunately they only taught defensive spell casting though, it was frowned upon to cast battle spells. Master Drui Cian said that any magical fight could be beaten with a defensive neutralising approach. They were peace keepers, not fighters. Emma didn't mind learning how to use the four elements in a protective way, but she did wish they could learn some battle casting. Just for fun. And she still couldn't conjure fire properly, but she was leagues ahead in calling on the element of air.

Reading, writing and maths were the basics, but books weren't used unless it was for those certain subjects, and that was just to practice. You were required to retain information by repeating what you did over and over again. The druids approach was to learn by doing, it was a method they had used for over a three hundred years since they first started. At first Emma found this to be a stupid method, but over the few weeks of repeating whatever it was she had to do, the blonde noticed that she retained the techniques without having to think about it much. Emma figured this is where Merlin picked up the repeating approach, and why he would hound her about the Runes practice.

One thing that did surprise her was that a child would start at ten to become a druid and it took twenty years to finish schooling. A druid then could be an adviser for villages, cities, or royalty. You could also stay and be teacher like others did, but it was more common to leave and be an adviser or counsellor. Beagan was the only student at the grove who was seven, this was due to the fact she was an orphan and the druids made an exception to the rule. She didn't learn any magic though or take any lectures. She helped others do various jobs, like collecting eggs from the chicken houses, or picking different fruits from the orchards.

In the end, Emma was glad that she finally knew the camp, the teachers and routines. She wrote a letter back to Merlin, telling him that he was dearly missed, that she looked forward to the time he would come back for her, and that he better not leave her here for twenty year! She also added a message back to Sascha, just a few random things that came to her mind. The blonde wondered if the humour would be lost on her, and so added a couple of lines at the end to explain why she wrote it like that.

Once she was done writing out the letter, Emma handed it to Warren the grounds keeper, and he sent the pigeon off, it flew high into the sky towards the east. Warren said that it would fly to the Island where Merlin would be within the month or a bit after that. He was going to say something else, but the blonde darted away, avoiding Caiside when he spotted her.

Emma didn't enjoy the attention she got from some of the male students. She just didn't understand why they acted weird around her, smiling and trying to touch her arms, shoulders or legs. She didn't like being treated differently either. If she wanted to help chop up firewood, she wanted to do it herself. The only male she had gotten close to was Belenos. He treated her as an equal.

In all honesty Belenos reminded Emma of Merlin, if he were a sixteen year old student. Belenos could recall most of what he had ever read or learnt, and was happy to share this information with anyone willing to listen. And Emma was, for most of the time, willing to listen.

The blonde was content to just hang around Aednat, Beagan, and Belenos until her grandfather came back for her, and that day could not come sooner. Emma would think about it every night before she went to sleep.

* * *

The ship rocked back and forth more violently than before, as massive dark clouds swirled above the ship, threatening to pour with heavy rain at any moment. Wind whipping the sails about as the crew moved to lower them. No sailor was without a job, as the storm would surely break to cause havoc.

The delicate sound of tiny droplets patted against the slender arched top windows of the captain's cabin. Sascha was hunched over on one of the seats, trying to stop herself from throwing up. Merlin sat on the other side of the oval table and watched her.

"You okay there Sascha, you're looking a little green." Milah asked. She sat at the head of the table and leaned forward to inspect the woman.

Sascha groaned and nodded to say she was fine. "Just this constant movement, I hate the bloody sea, smelly horrid fish, and -" but she didn't get to finish what she wanted to say. With a hand placed firmly against her mouth, the redhead dashed out of the cabin, kicking the door open to empty her stomach over the side of the ship. The wind, now blowing harder, slammed the door shut.

Milah bust out into a fit of laughter over the woman's constitution. She eased back into her padded chair and turned to face Merlin.

"I'm glad she'll be off my ship by late tonight, the poor thing doesn't take to water." She gave him a smirk and placed her legs, crossed, on top of the table and then leaned the chair back.

"Yes, well, I'm forever grateful for this Captain Milah." Merlin smiled back at her and then rubbed his temple. Not out of pain, but at how his mind seemed to be slipping, memories were disappearing and he couldn't work out why it was happening. Sometimes old age caused the mind to be less responsive, it was not a major problem at this moment and he would worry about it more, at a time where he would be less preoccupied.

Milah frowned at the wizard, but did not pry. He would share if he wanted to. She decided to ask him something else, a question that plagued her since their first meeting.

"So, how did you escape that Titan?" She asked.

Merlin let his hand drop away and gave her a smug look. "Oh I didn't escape it, my dear, I turned it into stone. In fact I think it still sits in the City of Jove to the west. I should probably clear one thing up though. It was not a Titan, but a Giant, which is a common mistake. I just let others think it was a Titan, for reputation purposes of course." He grinned.

Milah tilted her head at him, raising a single eyebrow. "Do you think the Queen knows that?" She lifted her arms, bending them to cradle her hands at the back of her head.

The rain drops drummed against the tinted glass as the storm outside increased its fury. Merlin thought that Sascha would surely be drenched by the time she wandered back in. The wizard returned his attention to the pirate.

"I have no idea. Queen Cora knows a lot, she's a powerful spell caster, so perhaps she is aware of it. I suspect a Stone Giant in the city square would be unavoidable." He placed his elbows down on the table and joined his hands together. A roguish smile grew on his aged face. "Or perhaps you could ask her the next time you raid West Port?" His smile turned into a grin.

Milah bit her lower lip. "I see my reputation precedes me. I doubt I'd be foolish enough to perform a stunt like that again." She turned her head away from the wizard, giving herself a secret grin. The idea was tempting though. Thrilling even.

Both Merlin and Milah jumped slightly as the cabin door flew open, a wet, shaking figure stood against the darkness of early night. A flash of lightning struck the sky, illuminating the figure for a brief second.

"Did I mention I _hate_ the sea?!" Sascha announced. The soaked woman trekked into the room, boots sloshing. The wind once again slammed the door shut behind her.

Milah sat upright and strode towards her. "Oh no you don't, you get down below deck and make a mess there, you, you -"

"_Scallywag_?" Sascha added. She had heard some of the crew member's use the term before. She guessed it was an insult by the way it was thrown about. Her hair dripped as she quietly waited for the captain to respond.

Milah pursed her lips at the word. In all honesty she didn't like to speak as other pirates would. When she did however it was for the lads and purely for show purposes. She preferred to be understood when she spoke, and clearly the redhead had not caught on to the sudden change she would make when alone with her and Merlin.

"Just, go down below and change in the medical room, no one will be there." Her healer was a drunk and was probably passed out on a hammock somewhere. Milah walked past Sascha and pushed open the door, indicating with a hand for her to leave.

"Fine, but I'm not running all the way up to the deck to throw up again." Sascha complained, briskly leaving the room, boots squelching.

Merlin stroked his beard, watching the interaction between the two. The captain closed the door and looked at the puddles, her face slightly annoyed. "You know someone could slip on that and break their neck!" She pointed at the thinly placed pools.

The wizard chuckled at her displeasure. "Are you nervous Captain? Because I have noticed the closer we get to the island, the more you seem to be easily antagonised by the smallest of things." He gave her the slightest of smiles.

"Nonsense, I'm perfectly fine." She huffed at him and walked back to sit down in her chair. Once seated, she tilted her head up slightly, to look down at Merlin somewhat. "If there was something bothering me, what makes you think you could help me anyhow?"

The captain had warmed to the wizard's odd behaviour, and would to a limited degree consider him a friend. She at least felt comfortable enough to share her long term grievance with him, but only if he answered her question correctly.

Merlin stroked his beard again, while peering at her. "I'm a powerful wizard, and you think I couldn't possibly help?"

The captain eyed him briefly and then reached over to open a small flat top, wooden chest, on the table. Inside were a number of rolled up parchments. She pushed a few aside to grab the one that looked much older than the rest. Milah pulled it out and gently played with it in both hands, rolling it back and forth.

"Merlin, I have a very serious question to ask you." Her face became steely as she looked into the wizards eyes. He did not flinch or become unsettled by the change in her demeanour.

"What would this question be?" His asked in tone equalling her urgent stare.

She leaned in closer to him, scroll in hand. "Do you believe after the Great War, when our Gods were made not to interfere with us anymore, well, do you think they still do even if it would mean possible death, for them?" Her eyes searched his, brows coming together slowly.

"What's on the scroll, Captain?" The wizard deadpanned.

Milah moved even closer to Merlin, unrolling the parchment gradually. They both gazed at the image as the captain flattened it out as best she could, placing both hands on each side of the paper.

There were three figures standing around a table. The first figure to the left was in a cloak, their face and body mostly covered by it and the only distinguishing feature was a dragon symbol on the shoulder of the cloak. The middle person was a man, holding up a served head by its hair. Merlin knew who this person was. The missing eye was what gave him away, it was _Odin_. The last figure, to the right, couldn't be seen at all. Like the person on the left, they were wearing a hooded cloak as well. As Merlin looked lower down, he saw one last being, a man cowering, fear etched on his face. The wizard had no idea who it was though, but what he could tell is that the man was scared of the object on the table.

"What is the tablet for, and why is the man afraid of it?" Milah pulled her eyes away from the image and looked at Merlin. He didn't take his eyes off the paper though, but continued to study it.

From what Merlin could tell, there were three people, Odin in the middle holding the decapitated head above the tablet. He guessed they were partaking in some sort of ritual. The tablet on the table was the main focal point, and it was clear that the man beneath it was mortified by its presence.

None of it made much sense. The only thing Merlin knew for sure was that decades ago when he went to the Shrine of Woden on the Island of the Gods. Odin appeared before him and asked Merlin to take a stone tablet, making the druid, at that time, hide it far away from anyone ever finding it.

For years Merlin carried around the secret, until he met Graham, and after knowing the lovely man for a number of years, confessed this secret. Merlin felt guilty about it for a short time, but he concluded it had been the right thing to do. Graham proved he could be trusted, and this was why the wizard let him take Emma to the Grove.

"Merlin?" Milah softly called his name out, as the wizard seemed lost to his thoughts. She could see him slowly returning back to reality, his eyes darted at her and then back to the paper.

"Where did you get this?" His voice strained marginally.

"I took it from…" Milah didn't want to confess she stole it, even though she was a pirate. Straightening her back, she continued. "I _acquired_ it from the Temple of Lugh, up in the north. At first I thought it was a treasure map, but when I returned to my ship I saw it was simply a drawing." The captain looked at Merlin, her eyes partly wide. "I have done a lot of research, as the image plagued my very dreams. Night after night I saw this bloody picture. I wanted to throw the damn thing away, but I couldn't."

The captain looked away from the wizard and stared out at nothing. "No matter how hard I tried to compel myself to get rid of it, the more I became aware of how much I needed to keep it." Her eyes darted at him and then back out to the nothingness. "Every book I consumed in my path to discover what it means has brought me nothing." She shook her head at this.

"One night, while I gazed at the picture, I realised that the man on the bottom, the one cowering." She turned her head and faced the wizard, searching his eyes. Milan placed a finger on the paper, on top of the man under the other figures. Both she and Merlin turned their heads to look the parchment again.

"This man is Zeus. I know it's him, because I have seen his figure etched on walls to the west. I saw them when I did that raid." Milah moved her hand, gliding it across the parchment to place it on the edge of the paper. She licked her lips, finding them suddenly dry and then focused on Merlin's features, seeing if he may enlighten her on this puzzle.

The wizard's eyebrow lifted up and he leaned back, placing his hands on his knees. He blew out a long breathe of air through his partly parted lips and eyed the paper again, and then the captain. "Well I think the drawing is very interesting." Merlin clenched his jaw, unsure what he should actually say.

Milah shot him a bitter look. "_Interesting_?! That's not helpful, Merlin. From the look on your face just then, you know something about this." She lifted a finger and pointed it at him. "That's not fair. I shared this with you, and so you should at least share what you know about it with me." The captain's tone was harsh towards him. "That's fair, _Wizard_."

"I don't have to share a thing with you, _Pirate Queen_!" He snapped back. Merlin eased back his body, aware of the sudden outburst, as the action was uncalled for. "I'm sorry, that was highly inappropriate of me. Look, I don't actually know what this drawing means, I don't know why it was made, or when, or by whom. You know what I know, which is little to nothing." He couldn't risk giving her more information, at least on the tablet. He felt bad enough sharing that secret with the hunter. If he told her anything more it could come back to harm him or others later.

They both silently sat in their seats, perplexed by all of it. Milah swiftly rolled the parchment back up and stuffed it into the chest. "I'm tired Merlin, I want to get a couple of hours of sleep before we arrive at the island later tonight." She moved from her seat and walked towards the door. "If you could leave me now, I would appreciate it." She placed her hand on the handle and stared at the wizard, waiting for him to move. Her face was apathetic as he eyed her briefly and then rose from the seat to quietly leave.

Merlin heard her close the door behind him, with a click of the lock shortly after. He let the rain fall on him, knowing he could simply shield himself with a bubble, but didn't. The droplets were the only thing keeping him from going insane with questions. Merlin would ask them all, tomorrow, at the Shrine of Woden.

Tomorrow would be a day to find what the Hel was going on altogether. He sighed and trudged off to check on Sascha below deck.

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**Zelda's Hero - Thank you for the continuing to find this tale interesting enough to look forward to the next chapter.**

**Ardenwood - You're not touched in the head, everyone is unique and that's what makes them awesome! And thank you for the comment.**

**ShadowCub - Merlin and Sascha is sort of comic relief, but I assure you they won't be this way forever. You'll see. Emma isn't a shape shifter (sorry), more of what she is will be explained soon.  
**

**Rurounisalayer - Thank you for continuing to enjoy it, and your question is difficult to answer without giving away too much. So I guess all I can share is; Emma and Regina will meet, it will happen, it's fated in my story.**

**I will share this though, they come to know each other when Emma is almost 18. It may seem like ages away, but I will purposely cut out stuff to bring them together as fast as possible, without compromising too much of the story itself.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, sorry about the delay on this chapter. I tried to compact a lot in this, and unfortunately due to the amount of stuff explained there's no Emma or Regina in here. But in saying that, this is a huge set up, so next chapter you'll get to see more of them than before.**

**Also I need to explain a couple of things - firstly, Eptir Ofridr means After War (EO), and Adr Ofridr means Before War (AO) [this is just for time reference]. And secondly, 10 years on the planet equals 1 day in the gods realm. I just making everyone aware of the time difference and stuff.**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

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The storm had settled by the time the crescent shaped island was insight. The captain steered the vessel towards the hidden cave system, letting the brisk wind propel them closer with each passing moment. The sails fluttered as its huge sea weathered body drifted against the twilight of a full moon which hung low in the night sky.

Milah gazed up at the cave, inspecting its familiar arched entrance. Pirates, smugglers, bootleggers, you name it and they would be at this location. At one time King David tried to weed out what he considered the dreg of the Galdor Kingdom, but with little to no success. He got to a point where it was best to leave them be, at least then he knew of their movements.

The ship then dipped silently into the cliff's cavernous mouth. "Oh, praise all the Gods, we're near land!" Sascha exclaimed with relief. She wandered towards the right side of the ship to watch as it glided across the water's surface. The torches on the ship glittered across cave's slick interior giving Sascha the feeling they were entering a creatures mouth, she clutched the gunwale tightly.

"Captain, do you want us to prepare the cargo to be unloaded?" The first mate asked while he walked towards Milah, record in hand to recount the barrels.

"Yes, that's fine Morcant." Milah didn't look at her first mate as she turned the large wheel to centre the ship, edging the vessel into the man made jetty. She had to have full concentration on making sure her ship didn't hit the side of the cave. It wasn't remarkably difficult, but it did require some skill to pull it off. As the vessel barged into the sturdy jetty at the end of the cave the crew swiftly moved about pulling down the rest of the sails and reworked the ropes making sure everything was completed before connecting the left side of the ship to the quay with a thick wooden plank.

Milah smirk in satisfaction at her crew's efficiency. They were a split bunch, either on the ball, or completely fumbling over one another. The captain moved away from the wheel and walked towards the wizard.

Merlin eyed the cave as the torches to his left flickered on the steel poles attached to the quay, exposing the space of the gaping layout. From what he could tell the cave could hold a small number of vessels, perhaps three to four ships at a time which was impressive scale. A jetty would allow each ship to dock and unload cargo. He was completely unaware of the captain approaching as he was continually absorbed by the possibilities.

"I'm guessing you weren't aware of this part of the island?" She asked simply, not wanting to startle the old man. It hadn't worked as Merlin jerked slightly at the captain's close proximity. Her voice bounced off the walls of the cave, echoing out into the darkness beyond where the torch light could not touch.

Merlin wasn't aware of this cave, but he did know the northern part of the island. The Shrine of Woden was further south and in the middle of the crescent moon shaped land, was the Galdor Kingdom, where King David and Queen Snow resided.

"So this is how contraband is brought here?" He commented. When he had finished training as a Drui, he was placed on the island to assist the priests of Woden at the shrine. It was at that time Odin appeared and gave the tablet to him and ordered him to leave for the north.

Milah smirked at the wizard, indicating he guessed right, and frankly it was an obvious answer. She didn't mind moonlighting as a freighter, hiding her plundering and looting lifestyle, it was more profitable than what she had thought it might be and only slightly less dangerous.

"Ready to see why my ship is called the _Baelfire_?" Milah asked as she lifted her right hand high up above her head. With a resonating click of her fingers the ship started to shake slightly. The captain wouldn't wait for either occupant to answer with a yay or nay, as they were going to see her magnificent ship regardless of the response.

Sascha grimaced with the sudden shudder, letting go of the gunwale, only to clamp a hand firmly to a rope hanging close by. Merlin stood still and crossed his arms, smiling in waiting to see what the ship would do. He summed up that is had something to do with fire, hence the name.

The crew moved about, not bothering to watch, they had seen the change a hundred times before, instead they busied themselves with organising the cargo. The first mate eyed the barrels and then checked his log book.

Sascha and Merlin watched the ship burst into a brilliant eruption of flames, lighting up the cave's interior briefly. The heatless fire devoured the illusion of a normal freighter vessel, revealing its true form.

The new ship looked menacing from any angle, harsh reds and blacks coloured its weathered timber body, giving it an air of death and doom. Milah continued to grin with the transformation, her ship was a ghastly thing to behold, and she wouldn't have it any other way. It struck fear into her enemy's hearts, and kept most other trouble makers clear from having to be a problem for her.

Merlin, somewhat impressed, smiled on. It was an interesting enchantment to have for a ship. A combustion transformation used to shift one disguise to another, it was something he wouldn't have thought of, but it was nice to watch.

Sascha however did not enjoy the show. Instead the redhead freaked from the fiery magic and nimbly flung her body overboard to avoid being burnt, cannonballing into cold water below. Merlin chuckled at the sight as did the crew, but the wizard's face became deadly serious seconds later. Sascha didn't know how to swim, at least not in her human form. If she had jumped off near the quay side, she could have at least have been close to something to grab onto. But no, the redhead had to jump off the other side. The jetty's boardwalk would be too far away for her to reach.

"Captain Milah, she can't swim!" The wizard rushed to the right side of the ship and peered out searching for any signs of the disturbed water surface indicating where she plummeted. He couldn't pinpoint the redhead's exact location though. As the wizard's mind strained to think of something to do, the captain was already taking action.

Milah ran towards the gunwale, throwing her cutlass to the side and flinging her captain's hat at Merlin. With no time spared she jumped off the ship and dove into the dark water below. The crew bolstered their fits of laughter as the captain disappeared over the side of the vessel.

The crew ran towards the gunwale, everyone staring out at into the dimly lit cave, silently waiting to see the two figures resurface. Morcant grabbed Merlin by the collar of his robes and shouted at him to do something. The wizard tried to get the first mate to let him go, but as they continued to jostle Milah and Sascha burst out of the murky water's clutches, the captain coughing and spluttering. The First mate let go of the wizard and ordered a few men to get the rope ladder.

Milah didn't bother with trying to get back to the ship. She pulled the redhead closer to her shivering body, making sure the woman's head was clear out of the water. It was then Milah noticed Sascha must have hit her head on a rock as there was large angry gash across her forehead, the blood oozed down the side of the redhead's face. The captain had a moment of dread, she too could have hit a hidden object in the dark water, what she had just done was extremely foolhardy.

The captain swam towards the quay. It made more sense to her to take the easiest routine out of the freezing water. By the time the crew got a rope ladder and set it up she would already be on the other side and probably halfway out of the water.

Once Milah was close to the quay, a couple of crewmen clambered across the plank, each trying to reach out for the captain as she came closer to the quay's edge_._

"Hey, Capn' reach for me hand." The scruffy pot-bellied man shot his out meaty hand, fingers twitching to reach her. Milah spat more of the water's salty liquid from her mouth as she held up the lifeless woman's body for him to take. "Grab her first." She ordered. Once they lifted Sascha out of the water, Milah felt a number of hands grab at her coat and pull her up.

The captain was dragged onto the boardwalk and then she gingerly got to her knees breathing heavily. Milah's body shook from the coolness of the cave as looked at the redhead. None of the crew touched Sascha as she lay face up on the boardwalk. Milah needed to make sure the woman's lungs hadn't filled with water, so the captain got to her feet and pushed away a few sailors to get to the lifeless woman.

"Move it ya scurvy dogs, can't you see she's still drowning!" Milah barked at them, causing one of the sailors to slip back and plunge into the water. Everyone started to roar with laughter at the man's misfortune. Milah was slightly surprised by her own outburst, as she hadn't even thanked them for helping. For some reason Sascha's life was important to her and in this moment she couldn't stop her heart from rapidly beating thinking about the redhead dying.

The captain pulled off her soaking wet coat and slapped it down beside her and then proceeded to swiftly pull at the leather straps on the front of Sascha's doublet. She needed to have as little interference with the woman's body, as she tried desperately to remember the procedure her healer had performed before on a drowning man. All awhile blood trickled down Sascha's forehead, to mix with her unruly wet hair. Milah thought it probably looked worse than what it actually was.

Morcant sprinted across the plank and slid to a stop next to the captain, tumbling to his knees. "What do you need me to do?" He asked hastily.

"Help me with the doublet, I'll do the rest." Her voice strained in worry, they were losing time. The first mate undid the rest of the leather straps and pulled the thick material apart to expose a white see through undershirt, he paused at the sudden sight of the woman's semi exposed breasts.

Milah huffed at him, pushing Morcant away with a firm hand. "Stop gawking you bloody idiot." She quickly glanced back at the ship, searching for Merlin, but couldn't see him. "Go find Merlin, go find the Wizard!"

The first mate fumbled to stand, still eyeing the redhead's somewhat exposed chest.

"NOW!" Milah yelled at him, eyes wide in anger.

He took off, up onto the plank, yelling at others to find Merlin. He thought it kind of strange the wizard wasn't involved in his companion's rescue.

Milah lowered her head to hear if the woman was still breathing on her own, only to confirm she wasn't. The captain tilted Sascha's head back and then stopped. It had been so long since she'd seen the healer on her ship preform the kiss of life, her confidence started to flee the more she thought about it. The captain closed her eyes and refocused, recalling the actions the healer performed and then sprung back into action, placing both hands over the woman's chest and pushed down hard, pumping her arms methodically. I have to get the heart to beat again, she told herself.

After a few moments the captain moved on to the next phase and tilted the woman's head back, Milah wet her lips unconsciously and placed them over Sascha's, blowing air into her lifeless body. A tear escaped the captain's eye the longer she continued to blow air into the inert woman's lungs.

Morcant reappeared with the wizard closely behind.

Once Merlin was close to both women he nudged the first man aside and dropped to the other side of Sascha. The crew were silent as they observed both the captain and wizard trying to save the woman.

Merlin watched as the redhead's chest rose and fell with each breath the captain gave her. He then saw the wound on his friend's head and knew that he would have to take over the situation immediately. As good as the captain technique may have been his magic was far better.

"Here let me." He waited until Milah lean back and then placed a hand on the Sascha's chest. A soft glow pulsated under his palm, forcing the human's heart to beat again. Once he knew it was started he moved his hand over his friend's head and healed the gash. Merlin caringly wiped the blood away with the sleeve of his robe.

Sascha's body convulsed as she returned the world of the living, gasping for air. As soon as she could breathe again she coughed up the salty liquid from her lungs. Milah pushed the woman onto her side, making sure the redhead didn't choke on the fluid. The captain rubbed Sascha's back and stared at Merlin. The captain noticed his face looked reasonably relaxed now.

The crew cheered and then moved back to their jobs as the first mate ordered them to let the trio recollect.

Merlin choked on a chuckle of pure relief and happiness. He wanted nothing more than to hug his friend, but resisted, letting her recuperate first.

Milah sighed, placing her hands against her face to let her cold fingers steal away the heat she'd built up from the adrenalin rush. A wave of joy burst inside the captain as she gazed at the redhead breathing, the side of Sascha's ribcage slowly rising and falling. Milah felt another wave of warmth splash her cheeks.

This minuscule display did not go unnoticed by the wizard as he eyed both Milah and Sascha. He didn't bother analysing it though, instead he shook his head at his friend's flare for drama, at least when Sascha was around it was not so quite a dull moment.

xxx

Roughly an hour or so later the ship's cargo was completely unpacked. A watchman discussed the agreement with the first mate as a small band of dockers took the barrels away. Milah took her crew up onto the mainland, just outside of the Kingdoms walls. They trekked through the city, making their way to the familiar Inn. It was almost morning by the time everyone settled into the accommodation.

Merlin and Sascha went to a different area of the city and rented a tiny two bedded room in another Inn. They needed to avoid being seen with the captain, it was for a safety reason and they had to remain low key, at least for now. The wizard thanked Milah for the safe passage and tried to pay her for the service, but she refused the offer, saying she'd be fine letting them travel on her vessel again if they needed to. The captain seemed somewhat dejected by the departure but did not voice it. Merlin thought she'd probably come to enjoy the duo's company, he gathered she enjoyed Sascha's slightly more, but reserved that judgement until it could be confirmed.

After a few hours of sleep, Merlin and Sascha headed out to look around the cities establishments, taking in the variety of shops and trade services. The wizard also wanted to see an old friend of his, and thought it best to see him before going to the shrine.

As they reached the medium sized shop, they looked up to old wooden sign hung high above their heads. It featured three pictures in a neat line. The first was a saw and hammer crossed, the second was of a boot, and the last was a mortar and pestle, which was odd as it wasn't there the last time Merlin visited. The wizard smiled at the faded images regardless of the last one being newly added, and reminisced briefly about coming to this place a number of times to get custom items created.

A bell rang out into the cluttered shop as they both walked into the store, Sascha becoming distracted immediately by at wooden carving of an eagle on a stand. She studied the figure, running her fingers along the groves with an inquisitive look plastered on her face.

Merlin strode towards the counter and waited for Marco to show himself. The wizard's pleasant smile dropped though when a tall young looking woman appeared from behind a wall and greeted him with a wide grin. Her bright blue eyes glinted as she introduced herself and then asked Merlin how she could help him. But the wizard didn't hear a bar of what she said, as he was confused to why she was even in the shop.

Perhaps Marco had hired an assistant? He would be well into his mid-forties now. The wizard slowly became lost to his own thoughts.

The young woman gave him a small frown, her grin disappearing somewhat. "Sir, are you ok?" she inquired.

"Um, oh, I'm looking for the craftsmen Marco." Merlin looked behind the woman and eyed the array of items piled around, secretly hoping that his old friend would appear at any moment.

The amber haired woman shot him another grin. "Oh my Papa will be back in a moment, he's just busy outback. I'm sure I can help you though. Is there a certain item that you wish to purchase or -"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you dear, but I don't know who you are?" Merlin said. He wasn't trying to be rude, as he just genuinely had no idea who she was.

The young woman jutted her head back at his abrupt question. She still grinned, but it was now forced. "My name is Zelena, as I stated before and I'm the daughter of Marco and Archibald." Her face was becoming more and more defensive by each passing moment the wizard studied her.

Merlin peered at the amber haired woman, taking in her attire. She was wearing a simple dark brown dress with a few embroidered patterns flowering around the forearms and collar. There was a large black belt strapped around her midsection, a silver buckle holding it together, this was clearly Marco's work and gave more validity to what the young woman claimed. As the wizard studied her more he noticed the large green amulet around her neck. Merlin eyed it quickly thinking that it must be a new sort of fashion for women to wear large amulets these days. He brought his eyes back to look at the young woman's face. Her features were rather angular, which was only softened by a cheerful looking grin, when she was giving one. He thought for a moment she looked similar to the Queen of the West. But he quickly let this reflection disappear from his mind. It was a silly thing to have thought it the first place.

Marco popped out from behind the dividing wall out the back of his shop, a rag in hand to clean the saw dust off from a job he just completed.

He saw his friend Merlin and his daughter Zelena staring each other down. The craftsmen smirked at the sight, as he never thought this day would come. But from the body language between them it seemed like something had happened, so he quickly moved forward to disperse the building tension.

"Merlin, have you met my daughter yet?" He joked at the wizard, knowing full well Zelena would have introduced herself. He tucked the rag into a pocket and swung his arm up to place it on Merlin's shoulder, greeting his dear friend.

Merlin jerked at the balding man's voice, but his surprise was replaced by a smile as he saw it was Marco. He eagerly returned the greeting by placing a hand on the slightly short man's shoulder.

Zelena remained quiet, as she studied the size different between the two. Her papa was taller than her, but this man named Merlin was much taller. He was about half a foot taller than her.

"Zelena I want you to meet a very old friend of mine, this is Merlin, he's a wizard." He looked at his daughter. She didn't say anything, but her eyes went wide with the new information.

"Actually I'm known as a High Wizard these days Marco." Merlin added.

Marco looked up at the wizard, his forehead creased slightly in surprise from the change in title. He was going to say something but opted for a joke instead. "Do you age my friend, or have you always been a geriatric?" Marco gave him a wrinkled smile.

Merlin raised an eyebrow at the poke. He could see that his friend had gotten much older since the last visit, Marco's tidy kept short beard was a similar white to his own, yet Marco was balding considerably. For a moment Merlin thought about what the craftsmen had said, he wondered at times why he couldn't remember much of his life beyond the age of forty.

"You reach a certain age and you're body just appears to be standing still. Why, I can see you're well on your way to that stage yourself." The wizard grinned at him.

Zelena frowned at both of them. She was about to ask her papa something but a redhead's movements caught her eye, causing her to lean to the side as Marco and Merlin continued to make small talk.

"So what brings you back after the twenty-something years of not seeing me?" Marco walked behind the counter and gently patted Zelena's shoulder to indicate he needed to get to where she was standing. The amber haired woman gave him a caring smile and dipped away to take care of the customer.

Merlin watched Zelena head towards Sascha before returning his attention to Marco. He eyed him momentarily and then sighed. "Oh the things that I have been through in the last two decades would take a few hours to go through, but I can see we have more in common than before." Merlin looked back at Zelena. He couldn't believe that his old friend finally had a child. Marco was forever talking about wanting one. But due to his desire for a male partner, it was an almost impossible dream. Or so it was thought, clearly that was not the case now.

Marco moved a few wooden figures around on the countertop, trying to tidy up the space. "Are you trying to tell me also found someone to love?" He looked at the wizard with a smirk. He'd seen the female accompanying him, but knew that she was far too young for the wizard.

Merlin scoffed at Marco, clearly it was another dig. "No, my friend, what I was going to say is I'm also a parent, well more of a guardian really, what I'm trying to say is I have a granddaughter now. In all honesty I was far too old to be seen as her father, so I went the next step up." He paused and thought that perhaps he could tell the craftsmen about it in slightly more detail.

"I know I can trust you, Marco, so what I'm about to reveal to you next must stay between us." Merlin placed his hands palm-down onto the countertop and leaned in as far as he could. Marco mimicked the wizard's body language, thinking that it was important to do so.

"I found her abandoned in the Dark Woods, where I use to live. She was wrapped in a light yellow coloured blanket, with the name _Emma_ knitted in purple…" Merlin continued to explain the event to Marco. The balding man's face went through an array of emotions as Merlin gave him the rundown of the thirteen years of bringing up Emma. The wizard deliberately left out the attack, and said that he put his granddaughter into a school for education purposes.

"Oh well you have been busy, I'm glad you had that Lucas lady to help you out. I'm very blessed to have Archie, honestly he's been a huge support in bring up Zelena." As they both were still leaning in on the countertop, Marco also thought he'd share how Zelena came about.

"About six months after you left Merlin, I met Archie. He was training to become an adviser for the King's court. At that time I didn't think he'd be interested in me the way I was in him. But he returned to my store a few times, asking for each set of his shoes to be repaired. It was about the fifth time that I caught onto what he was really after." Marco smiled at the memory. "We had been together only a year when Zelena came into our lives. Strangely enough under a similar circumstance as yourself, but we didn't find her. She was left on my shops front door step." He looked at the wizard, waiting silently for his friend to say something.

Merlin stroked his beard and leaned back. He thought it was strange that babies were being abandoned. But it wasn't probably as uncommon as he thought it would be.

Marco decided to continue. "I'm grateful for it though, I'm grateful that whoever left her on my doorstep obviously couldn't take care of her and I guess because I already have a business they thought I was able to support the extra mouth. They may have abandoned her, but they at least placed her somewhere they guessed could take her in." Marco leaned to the right of Merlin and watched his daughter having a heated discussion with Merlin's companion. He frowned at them but returned his attention to the wizard. "Both Archie and I are grateful, the only problem is…" He wasn't sure how to explain the next part to the wizard. But who was better to know about magic than him?

"What Marco, what is the matter?" Merlin asked in a hushed voice, slightly leaning in again. He stopped stroking his beard as Marco seemed conflicted.

The craftsmen avoided his friend's gaze, fumbling with his white scarf and then smoothing out his brightly coloured vest. He finally settled his hands by shoving them into his vest pockets.

"Zelena is a very special child, no, I mean young woman. Merlin she's a spell caster." The craftsmen's face looked strained as he admitted the secret. He and Archie tried to bring up Zelena as best they could, but it was trying at times, she needed proper training, someone who could show her how to control her magic.

Merlin widened his eyes and glanced at the amber haired woman, he didn't even see her aura reflect this. Perhaps she had learnt to mask it. "How long have you been aware of her _natural talents_?" the wizard asked, turning his head back to Marco.

"Since we first found her, she waved her hand around and nearly knocked everything I had in the store over." He rubbed his face at the memory. It was a terrible few years of constant cleaning up after her accidents. Once she was older though, Zelena had a better grasp of it. Both he and Archie kept it a secret, even if it plagued the moral side of Archie, which he'd voice to Marco constantly. He wanted their daughter to be able to cast magic, it was her gift and she shouldn't have to hide it from anyone.

"My friend, why didn't you go to the priests at the Shrine of Woden? Surely they would have helped you out?" Merlin was concerned over the craftsmen's distress.

"Because, since King David decreed seven years ago that all magical casters be sent to the north, we have desperately tried to keep her abilities low key." He rubbed his short white beard and then tucked his hand back into a vest pocket. "It's not the King's fault really, he's trying to protect them. There's this trade system with the south… It's all gone wrong, and the King is trying to fix it."

Merlin remembered it had been passed a few years ago, that an agreement trade between the east and south went into action. But he did not know to what degree of trading was agreed upon. "What does that have to do with the trade agreement? Are you trying to tell me that our spell casters are being traded?" The wizard clenched his jam marginally at the sheer thought.

Marco shook his head. "No, people were never apart of the agreement, but that didn't stop the southerners from taking them. I couldn't believe the rumours at first. It seemed ridiculous if you asked me back then. But now with collective disappearances of so many spell casters, I, we couldn't risk it." He hung his head.

The wizard's softened at his friend's defeated display. This wasn't right, and obviously King David should be doing something about it. But the two men were drawn away from continuing their chat as Zelena cried out.

"No, don't touch that!" Zelena yelled at Sascha.

The redhead was infuriating the young woman, she had touched and picked up everything in the shop, asking what they were and why would anyone buy it. Zelena didn't mind at first explaining things to her, but slowly over the course of time, the questions were becoming nonsensical. Some of them weren't about what was on display. It wasn't until the redhead approached Zelena's herbs and potions that the young woman totally lost her cool.

"They are very rare to come by. You have no idea what I have sacrificed to gather some of these!" Zelena pointed out loudly, clearly distressed with Sascha.

Merlin and Marco gave each other a sorry look. They both walked towards the women in the far left of the shop, hoping they could stop a fight from breaking out.

"Sascha, please leave this poor girl alone, and stop touching everything." The wizard said in a tired voice.

"And Zelena you should understand that there are people who will know nothing about your herbs and potions, and they will try to touch them. Just remain calm my daughter, you know what happens when you get overly _emotional_." He gave his child a small smile, letting her know he wasn't angry with her and that she was close to unintentionally using her magic.

Both women pouted at being lectured. They gave each other a wary look, unsure how they felt about one another and looked at the craftsmen and wizard.

Merlin needed to head to the shrine now. It was becoming more and more important as time crept on. He would have loved to stay and chat longer, ask more questions about the current state of affairs, but it was already late in the afternoon.

"Marco my dear friend, I would love to stay longer, but alas I have something very important that I need to do. Hopefully I can return tomorrow, if you're not busy of course, it will be Sun's day. Which we all know is a day of rest." Merlin looped his thumbs over his leather belt. He looked at Sascha briefly and then looked back at Marco, hoping his friend would invite him back.

"Of course you're welcome to return Merlin." Marco replied.

"Okay, I will return tomorrow, if I can." Merlin smiled at Marco's kindness. The wizard and the craftsmen said their own farewells and each guided a woman away in opposite directions.

Once Merlin was outside, Sascha started to defend her actions within the store, saying that she thought it was stupid how someone weren't allowed to touch certain items.

After a few moments of listening to her rambling, Merlin decided this was an appropriate moment to use a spell. He stopped and gave the redhead a blank look.

Sascha broke her stride and stared at him. "What?" she blurted out.

"Are you going to continuously talk all the way to the shrine?" he asked seriously.

Sascha shot him an indignant look. Folding her arms over her chest and straightening her back to appear more dominate. "What if I do, what are you going to do about it? Are you going play some prank on me, have a good old laugh over it, or -" She gasped at the loss of her voice. Sascha tried to speak again but nothing came out from her throat.

Merlin turned and kept walking. The redhead was furious but kept her bubbling anger to herself. She quickly scurried after him.

"Sascha, please know I did it to have some peace, I desperately need to think before we reach the shrine. I know you're passionate about things, but right now I need the silence." He glanced at the angry woman. He knew she would have a lot of heated things to say to him after he lifted the spell, but he would endure through it.

xxx

The sun was almost setting over the hill the shrine sat upon, when the duo trekked up the path, only to be stopped by a short old man. He said that the shrines services were closed and that they would have to come back tomorrow. Merlin asked why the shrine was closed. It was news to him, as far as he was aware there was no closing time.

"The shrine should be open to all, at any time." The wizard contended.

Sascha watched as both men argued about the rights to the open times of the shrine. She decided to wander off.

She nimbly snuck around the boundary and walked to the centre of the pillars. The redhead eyes each boulder in awe, as they had beautiful patterns inscribed in the stone, displaying pictures of various people and animals. Although she didn't know what they represented, she could still appreciate the elegance of the artistry.

Two large ravens flew down and landed on the statue in the middle of the encircling pillars. Sascha eyed them cautiously, glancing back for a moment to see Merlin and the old man were still talking. She turned back to continue to study the ravens but they were both gone. She thought it slightly strange how they didn't make a single sound with their sudden departure.

Sascha inspected the massive statue. As her eyes travelled up the sculpture a snapping sound came from her left, she spun around to see what had made the noise.

Merlin lifted his hands up. "Whoa there Sascha, I'm not going to hurt you." He examined the redheads defensive stance, her right arm was drawn back, ready to punch whoever was sneaking up on her. He thought it strange how she instinctively took a pose like that, he didn't think she knew how to fight, it very puzzling indeed.

Sascha relaxed instantly and gave him a disgusted look. "-" She tried to say something, but realised she still had the silence spell on her. She shot him another angry look.

Merlin smirked at her and waved a hand to dispel the magic. "Sorry about that. Oh and don't worry about the priest, I insisted he take a nap." He started to grin. "And well you know how I can be very pervasive." He gave the redhead a smudge look.

Sascha rolled her eyes at him. "Let me guess you cast some sort of sleeping spell on him or something?" She placed her hands on her hips and strode towards where the priest was last. She wanted to make sure Merlin didn't bash a rock or some other blunt object against the annoying man's head. But guessed that was her own desire really and not the wizards.

"I persuaded him with my charming voice and he gladly went to sleep." Merlin glanced at her while he stood in front of the statue of Odin and then peered up at it. "Anyway I have more pressing matters to attend to at this moment. An elderly priest is the last on my list of things to worry about."

The wizard opened his pouch and pulled out the familiar black book with a green tree printed on the front. He walked around the pedestal a short distance in front of the statue and placed the book upon it. He then heard the recognizable sound of wings flutter above him and looked up to see two ravens sit on each shoulder of Odin's sculpture.

"Hello boys, how's your master these days?" He didn't bother looking at them when he asked the question, instead he flipped open the book and flicked the pages to settle it on an inscribing of four black symbols. He didn't want to perform the ritual, unsure whether it would cause him to become blind this time around, but if Odin did not appear it was a backup that could to be used.

Sascha kicked at the dirt, clearly bored with the situation already. She slumped down onto a broken boulder and watched Merlin talk to himself.

"Odin! I know you're here, I know you can hear me!" The wizard ordered with his arms up high. The raven cawed at him and then disappeared into thin air.

Sascha sat up right at the sight, as she finally understood how they made no noise when they caught her attention before.

"Um I don't mean to interrupt you Merlin, but, I don't think it's a good idea to demand a god to answer you…" She fidgeted on the rock, peering around at the other pillars.

Merlin gave Sascha a quick look. "I wouldn't worry dear. I know what I'm doing." He turned to use the book now, it was clear that Odin didn't want to talk. He was just about to place his fingers over the first symbol but was stopped by a large hand slamming down hard onto the page.

"_Mimir, I don't think that's a good idea._" Odin boomed at the wizard. The god's voice echoed out, bouncing off the pillars. Merlin looked at the god as he softly glowed, giving Odin a ghostly look. The wizard thought if he tried to reach out and touch Odin, his hand would simply pass through him. But this concept quickly faded as he realised the god had a very solid hand placed firmly against the book's page.

Sascha froze with the noise and curled up into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs, hoping she could make herself so small she would simply disappear. The redhead's body shivered from sheer fear of the luminous god's presence.

"Odin" was the only word to slip from Merlin's lips. He looked at the tall ethereal one eyed man standing before him, almost looking identical to the statue behind the god.

"_I have been waiting for you Mimir. I have been counting down each day, each hour, and each moment for you to arrive._" Odin lifted his hand away from the book and stepped to the side of the pedestal. He ignored Merlin's odd look and strode towards Sascha.

Sascha wanted to scream but couldn't muster the strength to find her voice. The god approached her with great haste and pushed a hand hard against her forehead as she tried to scurry away.

"_Return to the living Scathach!_" He ordered. Odin's godly tone reverberated around the occupants.

Merlin swiftly moved towards Sascha and the god. What was Odin doing?

Sascha finally let out an ear piercing scream, causing the wizard to stop and crumple to his knees, hands clamped tightly against his ears trying to escape the sound. Merlin force himself to continued observing them both though.

A bright red light burst from Sascha's mouth and eyes. It wasn't until the light had totally enveloped her did the screaming stop. The bright red light flashed once and then disappeared. Odin pulled back his hand and the redhead collapsed into a heap.

Merlin quickly got to his feet. "What have you done?!" He yelled with pure desperation in his tone.

"_Mimir, you are next._" Odin said with a small smirk. The god held his hand up and moved towards the wizard.

Merlin flung his arms up to stop Odin from coming any closer. The god stopped instantly with his advancement.

"Wait, just for a moment, please. I have but a few questions to ask. Please Odin. Please let me ask them first." He begged, taking a single step back to create a slightly larger gap between them.

Odin lowered his hand and eyed him. "_Ask but one question._" The god's voice still bounced off the pillars.

Merlin went with the first question that popped into his mind. "Why have you been waiting for this moment? And I don't want a one sentence answer, Odin. I want to know in depth why you have been waiting for this exact moment." He took another small step back.

Odin stared at the wizard and then placed his hands behind his back. The god wandered around the cautious old man and stood in front of his statue. He eyed the book to his left and then turned back to face Merlin.

"_You will come to know all when I return your memories Mimir. But if you wish to waste more time, I will indulge you this one time._" The god's tone seemed to ease in its power, coming to a more normal level.

"_One hundred and fifty three of this planet's years ago I recreated you from the earth of the mountain that the people of the north call Wyrmspine._" The god looked into Merlin's eyes as if she was trying to search for the real ancestor within.

Merlin quickly calculated the time scale Odin was talking about. If he was correct it would mean that in the year two hundred and sixty Eptir Ofridr, the wizard was created, because it was the year four hundred and thirteen Eptir Ofridr now, he just needed to subtract the hundred and fifty three from this years date.

Merlin knew he was close to a hundred, but this would mean he was well beyond that original assumption.

_"__I created a new set of memories for you after you were brought back, ones that you will not be able to differentiate between real and false, at least not yet. I have also kept other things from you and that's why you have not been able to retrieve them when you used the book._" The god moved away from Merlin and gazed at his statue.

"_Not even Freyja knows of the extent of the plan that started well over three hundred and fifty of this planet's years ago. Though all in good time it will be revealed to my beloved wife the entirety of what has happened and what is to come and I will then be reunited with her again on that day. But until then I have waited for you to return to me, so that I may endow you with the once lost knowledge._"

The god turned to face the wizard. "_This is my answer and now you will have your memories returned. Everything will make sense after I have performed this last part of what you asked me to do, my wise uncle._"

Merlin didn't have time to react, as the god stood before him, pressing his hand against the wizard's forehead. Merlin buckled under the pressure of the uncountable images flooding forth, not quite making out the meaning of each one. He wailed at the pain as it felt like his head would surely split in two from the increasing tension building up.

"_Do you see it Mimir? Do you see what has been kept from you, how you were the third piece to the ritual?_" Odin pressed his hand hard against the quaking elderly man's forehead.

The god eyed Merlin as he continued to speak. "_Do you understand what you must do now, what is expected of us all?_" Odin's godly voice came back, booming out all around the shrine.

Merlin shook violently from the visions. Slowly all his past came erupting back, each puzzle-like piece slotting into place. He could see what had happened on the day of the Great War, how it had raged on for five days, but it was fifty years for the mortals.

He saw the missing pieces between the time when Odin drank from the Well of Knowledge and when the wizard was on the battle field the next. Odin couldn't fight in the war, as he was the one who had to set up the ritual with the other two Goddesses. It was this very act that would ensure the end of Zeus. It was this very ritual that would end all the positions of power for every God, Goddess and Deity alike. A Tablet of Unbinding was created that day, regardless of how it would affect Odin and his followers as well.

By activating the tablet it would mean Zeus had no authority over what would or could happen to mortals any more. It was a double edged sword contract, as no one would be walking away without a gash because it meant the same down fall for Odin and Freyja.

Merlin remembered asking Odin to take his life when the wizard least expected it, and the god had. It was him who cut off the Mimir's head. Odin would be the only one not able to make a huge sacrifice like him and the other two Goddesses, but it did not mean the god did not get away unscathed, for him to perform the ritual he had to have his eye taken, so that he could harness the knowledge to perform the deed.

After a few moments Odin pulled his hand away from the wizard's forehead and eyed him silently.

Merlin started to cry, which shortly turned into fits of sobbing. He was mourning over his lost life, over the years of lies, over the loss of so many people he once knew.

Odin bent over the wizard, placing a hand onto his shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze.

"_There, there, uncle. I know you're hurting now, but you can see this will end soon._" The god did not take his hand back, but crouched down instead.

The ravens reappeared and cawed loudly. Odin looked up at them and nodded and then gave Merlin a firm pat before standing up.

"_I will speak to you again Mimir._ _I don't need to inform you when either, as you already know._" And with these final words spoken the ravens and Odin faded into nothingness, taking away his soft glow with him.

Merlin wiped his nose with the sleeve of his robe and noticed how close to night it was as Odin's light was gone. The distant horizon was ablaze with the sun almost dipping away.

The wizard got to his feet and went to check on Sascha, even though he knew she wasn't hurt. But stopped when he realised she wouldn't be Sascha anymore, as she'd been returned to her original self. The mighty female warrior Scathach, with her scarred and tattooed skin, her blazing blood red hair, teal eyes and built body would be returned to its former glory. At least up to the point where she had been turned into a raven. Even if her physical state was to a degree somewhat identical to the former, it was her personality the wizard worried about.

Scathach hadn't been a goddess or deity, she was a mortal, and he knew that if she had died in combat that day hundreds of years ago, that was it, she couldn't come back. Merlin hadn't turned her into a raven for a random reason. Everything that had happened was deliberately done. He truly loved his mortal friend and wanted to make sure she was able to be by his side when the day of the tablet being sundered came about.

Merlin pulled from the memory with a flinch, hearing the redhead coughing. He could still just make out her figure not far away and the wizard settled on watching her quietly instead of going any further.

The woman cringed as her head throbbed. It felt like she'd drunk about a small kegs worth of ale. "Mimir, what the Hel is going on?" She croaked at the old man standing across from her.

"_Sascha_?" Merlin asked hoping her former personality wasn't wiped away when she was restored.

The redhead frowned at him. She got up and cradled her head, grateful that dusk was clearly gone and the darkness of night had come about, because the night air cooled her burning flesh.

"Did I fall asleep in the sun? I didn't think I'd drink that much again. Why didn't you wake me Mimir?" She mumbled while stumbling about trying to walk towards the old man.

Merlin gasped at the realisation that Sascha was gone. He didn't want that personality to disappear. It wasn't fair that he got to keep his… The wizards knew why he had retained his though. It was different, as he was different.

"What's the matter Mimir, why are you so quiet?" She plopped herself down onto the soft ground to rest. She desperately hoped she wasn't sunburnt.

"Scathach?" Merlin's face sunk as he asked the question, but the darkness of the new formed night hid his sad features.

The redhead gave him an odd look, even if he couldn't see it. "Mimir what the Hel is going on? Why can't I remember how we got here?" Scathach could have sworn they were on the battle field only seconds ago, and it was daylight then. Maybe she was knocked out and… No wait, she was fatally injured. The redhead brushed her hand down to her stomach to feel for the stab wound, but there was none.

"I'm afraid that this isn't going to be as easy to explain as you would hope it to be. I just need to know what your last memory was." Merlin edged closer to her and decided to ignite the torches around the shrine so they both could see each other better.

The arrangement of torches burst with fire. As both figures could now be seen clearly Scathach crawled back away from Merlin, her face screwed up in shock.

"You're not Mimir!" She yelled. "Who the bloody Hel are you?!" She added, quickly getting to her feet and reached for her sword. She grasped air twice before realising she didn't have one. The redhead angrily looked at the old man, ready to snap his chicken-like neck if he tried to attack her.

Merlin raised his hands to show her he was no danger and calmly repeated the question, asking her what she could remember before this moment.

Scathach frowned as she searched her mind and then voiced she was on the battle field and was injured. "Mimir tried to save my life by turning me into a raven, but…" She paused at the thought. Merlin picked up where she left off, voicing what she was going to say next.

"But you didn't want to be forced to relive your life continually as a bird, and you begged him. No, you begged _me_ not to change you. But I did it anyway, and your last moments you remember are seeing Odin kill me." Merlin took a step closer to her as he could see Scathach recoil back from the truth. Her eyes bulging slightly, but her fighting stance remained unmoving as her footing did not shift.

"You wouldn't remember each raven life you lived and was fully unaware of how you were once human. Not until you were returned to your former form, until the curse-like spell was lifted by another act of love. I could never have done this, as I didn't have my memories back and so I had no idea how to break it properly."

The wizard watched Scathach's knees tremble slightly with each confession. He decided to continue, to get it all out. "Until a girl named Emma, whom you wouldn't remember now, lifted the spell. But she wasn't skilled enough to bring you completely back, and so your human form was returned to a certain degree and without your original memories." He took another few steps closer. The wizard wanted to there to comfort her when she broke from what he'd done. "Scathach, it's been roughly three hundred and sixty three years since the Great War ended."

The redhead took a step back, fist clenched tightly until the knuckles turned white. "You fucking fool!" She said through gritted teeth. Her face scrunched up with anger as she stared at the old man.

Scathach lifted her clenched fists, arms shaking with the intensity of strength she was using to restrain herself from punching him the face. "How could you have done this to me? How could you have taken away my glory of death in battle?" She yelled at him as her rage continued to build. "I would have died with honour! I would have gone to Valhalla! " A wave of sadness hit her.

Merlin saw a tear stream down her pale skinned cheek. He didn't move forwards or backwards but remained still and continued to watch her. The wizard was afraid she may lash out at him.

"I could have had peace…" She whimpered, not looking at the old man. When she did finally glance up at him, her jaw flexed with annoyance.

Merlin wanted to apologise but felt it would be thrown back at him if he did so and he truly wouldn't be sorry, he would never be sorry about saving someone's life. His whole body slumped from seeing her hurt. He should have expected this to happen.

Scathach shook her head and pushed her bubbling rage aside. She would rather use it for battle than to yell at some decrepit man. What she needed to know now was why this was happening, what it all meant.

"Okay, so if this is the case, if what you tell me is all true, then why are we here in this time and now?" Scathach questioned as she straightened herself up and stared at the old man.

Merlin observed her change in demeanour. He felt strange, as he knew Scathach very well, but at the same he didn't. Having his old and new memories clashing together made it difficult to sort between which one to feel first. It would take him some time to adjust and sort them out appropriately.

The wizard took a few steps closer to Scathach, not wanting to raise his voice to answer her questions. "This is the time when Hladgudr Svanhvit was reborn and so -"

"Who?" Scathach asked, interrupting him.

Merlin sighed. He knew this was going to be tedious to explain.

"Svanhvit was a Valkyrie, you may have known her better as Swan-white?" He didn't let Scathach answer though, as he pushed on. "Anyway, she was also a mortal at the time of the Great Battle, but still chose to fight for her sisters and Freyja."

"What does this have to do with us?" The redhead was impatient with Mimir slow process of getting to the point.

"Please, just let me layout the foundations of everything, so you can see the entire picture Scathach, and not just yours and mine." He responded.

"So, as I was saying. Swan-white wasn't originally mortal, no Valkyrie is mortal. That is unless lay with a man. Once they do this, they lose their immortality. So as you know once you're mortal and you die, there's no coming back." He clapped his hands together and started to pace, with Scathach continuing to watch on quietly.

"Freyja made a trade with Swan-white's impurity, giving her redemption and a chance to live again, but it would come at a price and she also promised to play her part when the time came. Freyja isn't quite as skilled as Odin in creating life, and so she waited for her grandson to be reborn first before placing Swan-whites life into his child."

"Wait, wait, back up there, how is this possible?" Scathach scrunched her face up as she was confused by what he was explaining. The redhead sat down on the grass, no longer wanting to stand any more. Merlin eyed her for a second and continued to pace.

"Oh yes I forgot to mention that. You see Forseti, Freyja's grandson, well he died in battle, but due to the fact he was a God he would be given life again as a mortal. But for some Gods and Goddesses this process can take quite some time to come about. It's merely a few days for them, but here on this planet, it can take decades or even centuries. So when Forseti was reborn, Freyja put her plan into action and rebirthed Swan-white." He started to rush his words as he reached back into his mind over the elaborate set up.

"And it was this set up that would allow her to interact in both her grandson's new life, and Swan-whites too. It was a loop hole Zeus didn't know of, as he decreed that Odin and Freyja couldn't interfere in any mortal's life, and technically reincarnated gods could be considered unnatural mortals." Merlin took a huge breath after his long winded explanation.

"Mimir, stop for a moment. Just give me a bit to get this right in my head." Scathach sighed loudly and rubbed her face with her hands. "Okay so Freyja made a deal with a sexed up Valkyrie, no Ex-Valkyrie, and used her to be reborn, by her dead grandson. Who are both now mortals, but she can technically interfere in their lives because they aren't really real mortals?" She peered up at the old man, her mouth slightly open while her jaw hung marginally to one side as she tried to work out what he was saying.

He gave her a stern look briefly and eased his face back. "You don't need to be crude about it, but yes what you have relayed back to me sounds about right." He folded his arms and stopped pacing.

"So if I'm right, my next question is whose Forseti now?" She shrugged at him while biting both of her lips back.

"I was getting to that part, well I was after another part, but if you must know right now he's King David." Merlin creased his forehead at the redhead's interruptions, but understood how she was absolutely clueless about everything, and he owed it to her to explain any question she may have. He actually owed a lot to her when he let himself think about it.

"Okay, so Swan-white is the child of the King, so what does that mean?" She asked.

Merlin rubbed his forehead trying to ease it and then went back to having his arms folded. "It means that Swan-white isn't quite Swan-white any more, her name is Emma and she is the child of King David and Queen Snow, which technically means she's a princess, but that's not really important right now. What is important is she is the final key to breaking all the Gods reign over mortals." He paused to wait to see if Scathach was going to ask him something, but when she just continued to stare at him he started again.

"So as I see it, as I did hundreds of years ago, we needed to wait until the right time to become aware of the plan, so I couldn't mess it up. Think about it Scathach, if I was aware of the amount of danger that was at play here, and Zeus had gotten a hold of me… Well he would have torn that knowledge from me, limb by limb. I would have been a walking liability." He started to pace again feeling a little tense about admitting this.

"So as a fail keep I instructed Odin to stay in hiding until I returned to the shrine and only then would I be allowed to know the truth." Merlin remembered, peering back into the past, at the Well of Knowledge how he explained his intricate strategy to Odin. How he said that he would have to die, and that Odin must be strong about it and to do exactly as he asked.

Scathach guessed it was a good move on his part, even if she thought this whole thing was insane and overdone, but she ultimately agreed with her friend's judgement. She thought more about herself in this whole scheme and wondered at what part she would play.

"And I'm guessing that we clearly lost the war, because as you claimed Zeus now wonders about, or floats, or whatever that God does and you're scared of him finding out about this ridiculously convoluted plan. Yet here you are with full information of what needs to happen and he clearly hasn't come after you." She sighed at the realisation they were beaten. What was this world like now? So many things she didn't know about and wished there was some way that she could get in on the whole transfer of knowledge rather than the long process of it being explained to her.

"Scathach I haven't remained in hiding for so long to suddenly reveal my whereabouts, and Zeus won't know about it all until it's too late anyway. I-I did the best I could. I saw how this would all play out and made a choice to interfere. I chose to protect the mortals." He crouched down to peer at the redhead, searching her eyes, while she stared back at him in suspicion.

"You, my very dear and wonderful friend, you made me see the beauty in their simplicity, in their short lived lives. We Gods know not the end, and yet here were these creatures that embodied our own image, and they knew what it was to feel an array of emotions as we did. I came to learn that their existence matter just as much as our own." He placed a hand onto his chest at the confession. Merlin was pouring out his heart to her, letting her know why he even considered this choice.

"I have retrieved my concealed memories when I needed them back to continue the rest of the plan. Even though some incidents have played out differently than what I saw, I'm confident that everything is still well on track to where it needs to be. So there's no need to worry about Zeus finding out." He reached out to touch her shoulder, but the redhead flinched back and moved away, getting up and taking a few steps towards a decorative pillar.

"Don't touch me. I don't like to be touched. You should know that Mimir." Scathach said in a rough tone while glancing at him and then at the ground.

Merlin nodded and knew he stepped over his boundary there. "I'm sorry I just have a lot to work through, I know Sascha wouldn't mind, but you would…." He looked out at the blackness in the sky and thought that they should probably start trekking back to the Inn to rest. Scathach was going to say something to him but wasn't able to as a priest came running towards them.

"Hey you two, you can't be here, the Shrine of Woden is closed!" A young priest yelled at them both while jogging towards Scathach first.

The warrior flicked her head at Merlin and then back at the priest. She didn't give the wizard time to react. As soon as the priest was within her reach she ducked down and spun around, swiping his legs underneath him. The young man fell back with a cry, only to have the redhead pin his shoulders down with her knees as she crouched over him.

"Nighty night." She said while giving him a forceful pouch to the left side of his face.

Merlin raced over to her and used his magic to push her off. As she was flung away from the priest, the wizard bent down and examined him. After finding he had a broken jaw, Merlin healed the young priest and glared at Scathach.

"You can't just attack people here Scathach, you just can't hit them or hurt them because they move towards you." He got up and walked over to her as she laid on the ground staring up at him. "He wasn't going to hurt you. He is a priest, for Odin's sake. He would at most grab you by the arm and lead you away from the shrine. I understand that a short time ago you were battling it out on a field with gods and deities, but that isn't the case now. " Merlin paced around her, his voice high in frustration with her actions.

The warrior got up and dusted herself off. She gave him a cross look, but didn't argue, he knew this place better than her and would just go along with what Mimir said.

"Fine, I won't attack anyone unless you give the order, okay?" She snapped at him.

Merlin eyed her and rubbed the back of his neck to release some tension. "Yes, fine, good." He looked up at the sky and saw the full moon hanging low and decided they really needed to get going.

"Do you mind if we talk more while we journey back to the Inn we're staying in, I just want to rest soon and I don't think the priests will be happy to see two of their own unconscious with us standing around." Merlin stated, being truly tried from everything and desperately wanted to rest.

"Fine Mimir, wait, I guess you'd have a new name as well?" Scathach eyed him while waiting to hear what his new name was.

"I'm Merlin, and you should also know that other people who have met you think your name is Sascha." He gave her a small smile while they continued to talk. Walking out of the circular shrine and heading down the hill onto the beaten path that led back towards the city.

xxx

The room door creaked loudly as Merlin pushed it open, offering with a hand for Scathach to enter first.

The redhead eyed the room questionably. After a moment she walked in and plopped down into a small wooden stool next to a round table. She then swung her legs up to place them on the table, crossing one leg over the other trying to make her sitting position slightly more comfortable.

"So I guess this is it, we're stuck here for a while." She said while cracking her knuckles.

Merlin closed the door, locked it and then turned around to throw the key onto the table. He didn't bother looking at her as he walked behind the divider to get undressed. As he flung the layers of robes over the slender wooden panels he could Scathach huff.

"I know it's a long time Scathach, but think of it this way, you'll get plenty of training time in before that day comes." The wizard pulled on long thick undertunic over his head and smoothed it out with his tired hands. They trembled as he studied at them, knowing he need to rest very soon.

"I understand why we have to wait, but three years is a bit of a stretch. And just so you know, I don't need any more training." She rubbed her hand as it ached from punching the priest. "Okay I guess I need to train regardless of how good I am, but can I at least make my own sword, I don't trust anyone else's skills." Scathach yawned the last few words out, becoming aware of how tired she was.

Merlin pressed his hands together to steady them and walked away from the divider. He opened his leather satchel and pulled out a rolled up scroll.

"Before we go to sleep, I need to tell you one more thing." He turned around and gently placed the parchment onto the table making sure the candle was close by so they both could see it clearly, but then eyed the redhead's feet , indicating he wanted her to move them off the tabletop.

Scathach sighed while removing her legs and straighten up to pay more attention to the wizard. "Okay, but it needs to be quick, or I'm going to face plant this table from exhaustion." She looked at him, her eyes starting to shut.

Merlin frowned at her as he sat down on the other stool. "Was that a joke?" He asked with a small grin.

"No, it's the truth, which just happens to be humours at the same time." She didn't smile back at him. The redhead was trying to ease up from being regretful of his choice to keep her around. He did explain quite a number of things on the trek back and even though she thought that the whole goddamn idea was ridiculous, she was secretly thankful for the opportunity to see it come to fruition. It also meant she had a second chance to regain her lost honour. She had a second chance to reach Valhalla.

Merlin rolled the scroll out and turned it to show her the image. He watched her look over it, her eyes darting around the lines and curves.

"It a pretty interesting picture." She looked up at him. "But I don't have a clue what it means." She clicked her tongue thinking about the figures. She could really only make out Odin and Mimir, well Mimir's head, but didn't understand the significance of the image.

"It's a picture of the ritual to create the Tablet of Unbinding." He reached over and placed a finger on the first figure to Scathach's left. "This is the Coiled Dragon. She gave up her dragon form which is in essence water, this was the first step." He slid his finger across to stop on Odin. "This fellow you know already. He gave up his eye to obtain the knowledge to perform the task." The wizard continued to slide his finger to the other cloaked woman. "And this is the Goddess Tellus. She gave up her godly status for the earth of the tablet."

Scathach peered up at Merlin, her face starting to show she was catching on to what it meant.

"The head Odin is holding is me, and I was sacrificed to place my wisdom onto the tablet. I had to die to infuse the words of unbinding, unfortunate as it was, I do not regret it. So to briefly overlay the process, you have to have water, earth, wisdom, and someone who can bind them all to create the tablet." He leaned to his side, placing a shoulder against the wall.

"And the man cowering under the tablet is Zeus I gather." Scathach gave him a smug look at how she was capable of working out the final person.

He nodded at her, his eyes shutting slightly. "This picture is a foretelling of what has happened at what will come to be. I don't know if Zeus has asked his Moirai, I believe that's what they are called, about this yet. I do know however he will and I will deal with it when that time comes." The wizard rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Scathach looked at Merlin, as she couldn't believe that he was a hundred and fifty three. He did look old, but not to that degree. His wrinkles were prominent, and creased considerably more when he smiled or laughed. He also had a good head of hair, long and white with hints of silver, the same as his beard. Merlin had his hair tied back and a small knot tied at almost the end of his beard. She guessed it was to keep everything tidy and manageable.

"You know what Mimir. I think you look almost the same as you did before, except your face is slightly longer than before. Oh and you're eyes are dark hazel, when they use to be blue." She studied him a little longer as he looked at her with a blank expression.

"I think I have more hair this time around if you ask me." He lifted a hand and stroked it back. "I honestly couldn't care less about it though, as I don't worry about appearance as much as other mortals seem to." Merlin got up and wandered over to his bed and slumped down on the end of it. He still wanted to see his friend, but the stool was very uncomfortable after sitting on it for some time. He noticed Scathach was frowning at the piece of paper. But she spoke up before he was able to ask her what she was thinking about.

She grabbed the scroll and held it up. "Where did you get this from anyhow?" The redhead waved it back and forth while asking the question.

Merlin chuckled, as he knew this would come up at some point. "I _acquired_ it from a pirate." He grinned with the confession, because he was using almost the same words the Pirate Queen had when she explained how she came across it. He knew that Scathach would be lost on the poke, it was an inside joke anyhow.

The redhead dropped the parchment on the table and eyed Merlin. "How come I get the feeling you have a flare for mischief?" It was self-explanatory though and she gathered he wouldn't answer it.

Scathach rose from the stool and started to undo her doublet. While she fingered the leather straps another thought popped into her head. "Is Emma aware of her fate, her part in the scheme? Like will she learn about what is expected of her when the time comes to activate the tablet?" She stopped from undoing her clothing and gave the wizard a serious look.

Merlin stroked his beard. "It's Freyja who will tell her this when she goes to the temple up north, and then the Goddess will visit my dreams to tell me who she is in more detail and who her parents where. I'm not sure how the Freyja will react when she finds out I already know all this and more." He rubbed his face and eyes, half anxious about her inevitable visit and half from being truly tired.

"I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer, I'm absolutely spent my dear friend. Perhaps we can pick up in the morning where we leave it tonight." Merlin crawled up to his pillow and pulled the blanket back. As he placed the blanket over him he blew out the candle on the side table and laid back to relax.

Scathach pulled off her doublet and dropped it on the ground, not caring where it fell. She slipped off and threw her boots at the wall to her right. The redhead turned back at the round table and blew out the candle and then walked to the bed to fall back onto the mattress. She undid the ties on her trousers, wiggling off the pants and balling them up to throw them at the end of the mattress.

The redhead leaned over to blow out the candle on her side table and then laid back into the bed, letting the cool air sooth her skin. She wasn't the self-conscious type and was not bothered being in just her underwear. In the coolness of the dark, she ran her fingers over her scars, thinking of how she got each one. But her mind couldn't settle she still needed to know one more thing.

Scathach turned her head towards where Merlin was sleep, across the room from her. The divider hid most of him except his feet. She could just make out the detail with the moon light streaming in through the window of the room.

"Before you drift off into slumber, I need to know why this Emma girl is so important, why was she chosen for this task and no one else?" Her voice seemed louder in the unlit room.

Merlin grumbled. It wasn't a short question to answer, but decided to simplify it as much as possible. He sat up and leaned forward to stop the divider from blocking him.

"Well, it's more complicate than how I would have had it. This is due to the fact that I led Freyja to think she needed to ask the Norms about how the war would fair. So I asked them to tell the Goddess a certain amount of information so that she would then choose a deity worthy enough to perform the act of destroying the tablet." Merlin yawed loudly, indicating he was close to finishing what he wanted to say. "Freyja chose Swan-white for her own reasons, and I won't know them until she visits me, which will happen all in good time."

Merlin slumped back onto the mattress and dragged the blanket back over him. "Night Scathach, I'll answer the rest of your question tomorrow."

The warrior said a goodnight back to him and rolled to her over to face away from him, closing her eyes to fall sleep. She listened to Mimir's snoring mixed with the sound of crickets clicking and bugs buzzing against the window. Scathach thought it was funny how you could hear everything alive with movement at night, and yet here she were about to fall asleep. Her mind continued to race with more questions and images of the battle field. Soon the redhead drifted off into a deep and much needed sleep.

* * *

**Wow thank you to everyone who left a comment, I'll try to answer them all to the best I can;**

**ShadowCub - Yes Emma could be considered a demi god, but a different title is used in my story for it. Thank you for asking, glad you've got your thinking cap on.**

**ichigo111981 - Emma is actually 13 right now, but I will skip a few years at a time to get to her and Regina together sooner. Thank you for liking my update from before.**

**Rurounisalayer - Thank you for commenting, and don't worry too much about your English, I'm pretty terrible myself. The thing is you're trying and that is what counts. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too, and sorry about the long wait.**

**Guest - Don't fear I won't abandon this story, I will see it through. Thanks heaps for finding it interesting to continue reading it.**

**MagicMirrorSeesAll91 - Thank you for your patience, I hope to have Emma and Regina together soon, trust me I'm desperate for it to happen as well. Thank you for your comment.  
**

**And thank you to everyone else for continuing to take the time to read this fanfic. Your interest pushes me to keep going.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I felt so shitting posting the last chapter without either Emma or Regina in it, so I typed like a mad person and finished this chapter way quicker than I expected. Heh.**

**I also was wondering if anyone would object to me having other characters shack up. What I mean is if I, for example, had Milah/Pirate Queen get with Sascha/Scathach, would anyone be against that? And if I wrote about any sexual interactions ****(other than kissing)**it would be exclusively femslash though. So would people be up for that?

**Anyway I'll stop rambling, hope everyone enjoys the new chapter.**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

"Okay everyone pair up and begin training, and if I see a single one of you try to hurt each other you'll have time out. Do I make myself clear?" The drui eyed them all, deadly serious with that he just said.

"Yes Drui Brennus." They all chimed in with the same droll tone. The small group of ten students sat along three long logs, watching their teacher pace back and forth. He pointed to different pairs and then told them which coloured ring to go to. "Now remember this is a friendly competition, last to be knocked out or finishes their projectiles, wins." The drui added.

Emma jumped to her feet eager to practice defensive magic. She headed towards Belenos and came to stop in front of him. The blonde pulled on his long arm to be her partner, clearly showing everyone else she was teamed up with him. Emma didn't want Caiside to try and pair up with her again, she couldn't put up with his wandering eyes or his weird advancements.

Emma also wished Aednat would practice with her, but the girl never seemed interested in pairing up with her. No, the orange haired girl would always choose a boy her age named Todd. Sadly Belenos wasn't exactly anyone else's first choice, and Emma preferred to partner with him, even if he was three years her senior.

"Emma, stop, you're going to pull my arm off. I said _yes_ to be your permanent partner last year. Emma, stop it." He whined out the last few words, slapping her hand. But it was useless, Emma had a hold on him and wasn't going to let go.

"You see the thing is I don't want Caiside to partner with me at all, not even by accident." She pulled on his arm as they walked to the familiar training circles, only letting him go when they reached the two white rings. Belenos entered one and Emma entered the opposite of his. They both adjusted their stance and stared down at the devices to the end of the field.

"You going to help me this time, or are you just going to let those bastard leather balls hit me again?" He shot her a pleading look, pulling his sleeves up and then flicked his fingers out to ready himself.

Emma gave him a confident smile, her high cheek bones were made more prominent by it. "It's not my problem you can't defend yourself properly, I just cast air elemental magic better than you, deal with it." Her smile morphed into a cheeky grin causing Belenos to poke his tongue out at her, which made them both giggle.

Drui Brennus called out for everyone to begin practice, as he waited to the far left of the training field and watched the pairs use each element corresponding to its colour.

The sling-like device propelled the medium sized spheres at the readied students, making each one casting an element to stop it from hitting them. Emma pushed hers away with a strong force of wind, causing the balls to fly far off the field. She turned to glance quickly at Belenos, making sure he was keeping up with them.

"Help me Emma - oh gods!" He hollered at her as a leather sphere impacted with his chest, tossing him out of the ring.

Emma ducked under an incoming projectile and scurried towards her friend, crawling along the ground to keep herself out of harm's way. As she crouched over Belenos, he leaned up and whispered into her ear.

"Tell my bug collection I loved them." He grinned at the blonde and slumped back into the grass. Emma pinched his arm, as she was worried he'd been really hurt. She could still hear the sound of the ball hitting him the chest ringing in her head as she thought about it.

"Oww, you're so violent, I'm telling the teacher." He quipped at her, causing Emma to pinch his arm again.

"I thought you'd been really hurt. That ball slapped you so hard in the chest I bet the cows on the other side of the camp could hear it." She stood up and bent over to grab her friend's arms, helping him awkwardly get to his feet.

Belenos dusted himself off and peered over at the catapults, his and Emma weren't firing any more. "We both left the circle, which means we're out." He turned and faced the blonde, shrugging at their loss.

The pair walked off towards the logs and sat down to watch the others practice.

Belenos eyed Warren as the grounds keeper pushed a wooden barrel towards the stables. The student licked his lower lip and smiled at what he saw.

"Do you have to, really?" Emma gently pushed her friend's face away from staring at the grounds keeper. He tried to fight her, but ended up letting her continue to making him focus on the other students.

"Oh don't act all innocent with me Emma Swan, I know you're fantasy." He grinned smugly and crossed his arms.

Emma shot him an annoyed look. "Shut your mouth, that isn't something to talk about in the open." She fidgeted and smoothed out her tunic, trying to will the memory away.

He leaned in and talked to her in a hushed tone. "Have you dreamt about her again? You know the mystery brunette, what was her name again?"

Emma peered around hastily and saw a few other students walking towards where they were sitting. She turned and grabbed a fist full of Belenos' collar, pulling him in slightly closer than he was already, her brown creased in fear of him continuing to talk about her dream.

"I don't want to discuss this in the open, so which part of _not_ and _in the open_ do you not get?!" She let go of his collar and turned her body away from him, going rigid with distress. Belenos pooled his hand into his lap and leaned to his left, getting closer to a stressed out Emma.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you." He placed his hands on the each of the blonde's shoulder and started to massage them. Emma relaxed and turned her body back, her head dipped down causing some of her golden locks to tumble about her face. She peered up at Belenos through her hair and nodded, accepting his apology.

The duo watched a set of two other pairs sit down on the logs and chat among each other, not bothering to invite Emma or Belenos into the conversation.

"Is there something wrong with us? Are we so different from everyone else?" Emma asked with an annoyed look, she had been a student at the Grove for almost three years, and in that time she was slowly more and more excluded from other groups of students.

As it already stood Emma wasn't allowed to leave the camp grounds. The training grounds were the furthest she could go, and anywhere else the barrier's walls ended. She may have been told years ago that this wasn't a prison, but with each passing of the seasonal change the blonde felt more and more isolated.

"It's probably because we're just so fantastic, that these other mere mortals don't know how to handle us." The young man said, sitting up straight and placing his hands on his side, putting on a bravado pose.

Emma smirked at him, her long curls still partly hiding her face. She lifted her head and shook the locks away and smiled at Belenos.

"I honestly don't think we're anything that special, let alone to consider ourselves in a mocking fashion as godly-like." She played with a corner of her tunic while eyeing her friend, unintentionally conveying her own hidden insecurities. Emma was unsure if her grandfather would ever return for her. Did she even still matter to him?

"Speak for yourself, I'm nothing but spectacular." He brushed a hand threw his short light brown hair, giving Emma a charming grin. "And I bet Merlin thinks you're pretty amazing too, and just between you and me." He pulled Emma in closer hanging his arm around her shoulder. "I think you're the best person I have ever met. I mean look at that cute face, it's adorable."

Emma smirk at his kind words and gently pushed him away. "Don't sweet talk me, I know your tricks." She ducked her head down again to hide behind her hair and continued to fiddle with the corner of her tunic. After a quiet moment she looked up and studied her surroundings, observing the training field, letting her mind drift aimlessly about. Her grandfather continued to write her letters, but something about him had changed. Emma couldn't quite put her finger on it, as he just seemed to words things differently now, or he was more distant about answers she asked for. And Sascha hadn't written a single thing since the first time. Emma gathered it may be because Merlin would have to write it down for her and chose not to do it any more.

Every letter Emma wrote back to him included the same question; when was he going to come get her? But he never answered it the way she hoped, it was always one word; soon. It's not that she hated living in the camp, even if she felt like a prisoner at times, it's just she missed her family, her real family. Even if the Drui camp was all about being a family-like community, she just never felt entirely apart of it. This feeling was made more evident when she was band from leaving the grounds, and each year she was made to stay behind while the rest of the students and some teachers celebrated the festival of Lughnasadh at the Temple of Lugh.

Belenos stayed behind last year and missed it to be with her, saying that he thought it was boring and would rather spend his time with someone who enjoyed his brilliant mind. Emma smiled at the memory. She was very grateful for his friendship. Even when Aednat's and Aeslin's attention moved away from her and towards that of boys, it was Belenos who was right there to talk and listen to her.

Emma was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts as she felt her hair being tugged on. She turned her head to look at Belenos, who was plaiting her hair to the right side of her head.

"Er, what are you doing?" She tried to pull back, but he had a firm hold of her locks, moving them about.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Honestly, if you didn't have me to do this to your hair it'd be a tragedy, there would be knots and tangles all about." He let her hair drop momentarily flicking his hands about around her head. "Just be quiet and let me do my magic." He gathered up the strands once more and continued to weave them together.

Emma sighed and looked up at the early afternoon sky watching the clouds drift by slowly. As she pretended to make pictures out of odd shaped ones, something fluttered off in the distance. Emma sat up more and squinted at the object as it was coming closer.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing up at it.

Belenos didn't let go of her plait as he followed the direction Emma was pointing towards. He eyed the object for a moment, trying to figure it out. As it came more into sight he could see that it was a bird, a white bird to be precise.

Both Belenos and Emma watched as the white falcon flew high overhead and off towards the forest beyond the training field. When the bird swooped down out of sight they turned to each other. Belenos was looking slightly confused.

"That didn't seem normal to me." He commented. The young man stood up and tried to search for the exact location the bird dived into.

Emma gingerly stood up to stand next to him. "Why do you say that?" She turned her head, causing the newly formed plait to slip down over her shoulder and behind her back. It wasn't one of Belenos' best jobs, as it started to come undone near the end.

He eyed the braid, biting his lower lip to fight back the urge to fix it. He looked back at the forest, refocusing on the subject. "I say that because way out there." He pointed towards the forest. "Because over there is where the Bear Shrine is and if you ask me, I don't think that falcon is there to catch mice."

Emma frowned at him. She was starting to think he may be the paranoid type. It wasn't odd for a bird to fly about and hunt and yes the colour may be unusual, but that didn't mean anything.

"I think you're over thinking it, it's just a bird Belenos." She shrugged while half heartily lifting a hand, palm up, swinging it towards the forest and then letting it fall back down to her side.

He huffed at her and threw his hands up. "Fine, fine, I'm crazy. You're right there's nothing at all unusual about a pure white falcon that just happens to land in the location of the Grove's guardians." He swung his hands down and rested them on his hips, clearly upset about Emma's lack of curiosity.

Emma shot him an indignant look at his condescending tone. She sighed and returned to sit on the log. It was then she noticed there were only two people left on the field and they would soon be finished, which meant the lesson would be over for the day.

As the last two fought off the remaining leather projectiles, the teacher yelled for them to gather back together and head towards the eating hall. Emma pulled Belenos away from his fixation about a bird and joined the back of the group.

xxx

Emma punched the pillow trying to make it softer, she huffed with frustration and dropped her head back onto it. The blonde looked up ceiling noticing slivers of light through its thatching and she guessed the moon was high in the sky by now. She really needed to go to sleep. But her mind kept wandering off thinking about how her grandfather was, what was he doing, is Sascha ok, or just generally anything to do with them. Emma turned on her side and peered out into the darkness, listening to Neala's snoring softly in the bed across from her. It was Beagan's old bed, but since the tiny girl's Aunty came and took her away it was given to another student that following year. Emma didn't get along with the other girls as well as she hoped. It may have been the fact she was brought up in a different environment from them. Aednat would still talk to her and they did stuff together, but the orange haired girl took it pretty badly when Beagan was taken away and decided she didn't want to get close to anyone else any time soon.

Emma punched the pillow again, distracting herself from thinking, trying desperately to let her mind clear for a few moments. After some time she soon felt the familiar calmness of sleep.

xxx

_Emma's lungs burned as she frantically tried to inhale more air. Her muscles ached from the constant running, but she couldn't slow down though, not when she was sure the monster was still close behind. _

_A loud screeching sound travelled out high above her head. She dared not look up it, instead she dove into a thick clump of bushes in hopes she could escape it. _

_The teen pushed her way further on hands and knees into the shrub's concealing foliage and then flipped over onto her backside to take a moments rest. She wheezed from the lack of air she couldn't seem to obtain for her hungry lungs, clutching at her chest as she could feel her heart pounding hard against its interior. She thought for a moment that it might explode, but didn't have much time to ponder it for long, as a brilliant flash of orange light poured through the gaps in the large shrub._

_Emma got to her knees and shuffled on them to get a closer look, pulling the many tiny branches aside to witness a winged humanoid creature burst into flames. It cried out in an ear piercing screech as it plummeted into the solid earth below. The blonde watched its lifeless body, eyes wide to take in as much light from the moon as she could and tried to search for what had brought it down. _

_The darkness of night was more evident to her now. The teen tried to think if it had been night when she was running in the first place. Something wasn't right, something was very off. How does day turn to night within moments, she wondered. Her breathing was back to normal now and her body stopped aching, which made her contemplated this sudden change even more. Emma slowly became aware that this was a dream._

_"__Are you okay in there?" a concerned female voice_ _called out._

_Emma froze with the sound, which called out to her again. Emma knew that voice, she was sure she had heard it before. But before she could recall where or when she had, the stranger pushed their way into the shrub and stopped a few feet away from Emma, who was still on her knees._

_"__You!" The brunette said in a surprised tone, while pulling her long dark hair back. She started to tidy her elegantly designed dress_ _by sweeping her hands down it, smoothing out its unseen creases. The young woman quickly peered at the blonde, a small smile blooming across her face as her eyes glistened in the twilight._

_Emma's suddenly realised it was the same brunette she had dreamt about before. The teen combed back her matted hair with her fingers, trying to look at bit more presentable as well._

_"__You saved me." Emma managed to say as her heart began to beat fast again as she remembered the last time she dreamt about this beautiful young woman. The brunette seemed to have aged as Emma did, or perhaps it was her mind that changed the other woman to suit own desires? Emma couldn't think properly, as hard as she tried the mesmerising beauty across from her made it near impossible to even form a proper syllable. _

_The brunette bent down onto her knees and reached out for Emma's hands. She gently touched the top of the teen's fingers while her smile grew. "I owed you, from last time." She grinned at Emma, sending the blonde's heart aflutter. The teen's face deepened into a blush which was concealed in the darkness of night._

_With a bright flash the pair were transported into a room on top of a large bed, it was also daylight now. Emma looked around at the walls and furniture realising it was where they had last kissed in her dream, before she woke up. The blonde, becoming extremely shy, started pushing herself back until she hit the bedhead against the stone wall._

_The brunette bit her lower lip and crawled slowly towards her. Emma thought the young woman's eyes seemed to darken the closer she got, causing the teen to make an audible gulping noise at the advancement._

_"__Stop, let's just slow it down." Emma pleaded, shooting her arms up to cease the brunette from coming any closer. She was extremely nervous about what was going to happen next and also afraid it would end like it had last time. The teen didn't want to wake up without at least being able to admire more of her this time around. Emma tried desperately to think of the brunette's name, but couldn't recall it, which started to frustrate her to no end._

_The young woman paused and sat up. She started to glare at Emma while crossing her arms in defiance. "Will you stop moving away from me? I haven't dreamt about you in a year and I will certainly not have you telling me what to do either." She said in an authoritative tone, clearly not happy with the blonde's request._

_Emma began to frown as she stared at the young woman across from her. The teen was puzzled that her own dream would tell her she was the dream, and considered it all a bit strange._

_"__No, you're my dream. You have it around the wrong way." Emma protested. She wasn't going to be pushed around by her own subconscious. She may not have complete control of it, but she'd be damn if it told her what she was allowed to do._

_The brunette flicked her hair, causing a few long dark curls to move further to the back of her head. "No, you clearly have it wrong, you're my dream and I will do as I please." She lowered her head and stared at the blonde with a pure look of determination._

_Emma was about to argue with the young woman but was silenced by a set of very soft, plump lips pushed against hers. The teen could feel the brunette's hands roam her back, lowering them to pull her closer to the other woman's body. _

_Emma wanted to struggle, to push back, but as their lips moved against one another, all she could do is let out a low sigh of satisfaction. In that moment Emma remembered her name. But she waited for the brunette to stop kissing her first. When she did the name tumbled out of Emma's mouth and across her tingling lips. "Regina…" _

_Regina pulled back slightly, still holding Emma close to her. The young woman lifted her right hand and delicately brushed away some of the teen's golden blonde hair. The brunette's deep brown eyes gazed longingly into Emma's light forestry green, as if they would never get a chance to see each other again._

_Regina licked her lower lip and continued to slide her right hand down the blonde's face, letting it grazed across Emma's lower lip before resting it at the small of the blonde's back again. _

_Emma felt her whole body come alive with the tender touching. It was nothing like she had ever felt, and wished with every fibre of her being that it wasn't a just dream, even if she knew it was. Emma thought,_ _momentarily, how sad it was that this imaginary person called Regina made her feel like she wasn't alone and wasn't left behind, that she mattered._

_"__Oh Emma." Regina said as she eyed the blonde and placed another affectionate kiss on her willing lips._

_Emma didn't hold back this time, she eagerly welcomed the silky flesh of the other young woman's mouth, pushing gently against hers. It seemed to come so natural to Emma, like she had done this before, once upon a time._

xxx

"Emma, hey Emma, wake up." He said in a hushed tone, trying to keep his voice low.

The teen smirked, puckering her lips and moaning. She pulled the pillow closer to her face and kissed it as the name _Regina_ left her mouth, and she smirked again.

Belenos held back a building roar of laughter as he watched his friend obviously have a very good dream. He was almost regretful to wake her from it, but he was sure she'd enjoy his little night time surprise… well he hoped she would.

He shook her again and peered around the room desperately hoping he wouldn't wake the other occupants. If he was caught in the females sleeping quarters he'd be seeing a lot of his days in the confines of the Master's roundhouse, as Drui Cian would be very disappointed with such disobedience. Belenos knew why the genders were kept separate, and thought it was laughable at how he was probably the least of any female's worries.

He pulled off Emma's blankets and scooped her up into his arms. She stirred slightly with the shift but still did not wake. He huffed at her ability to slumber on and carried her to the front door of the roundhouse. The young man admitted that this probably looked really suspicious but he was more focused at this moment on how he'd underestimated Emma's body weight, for a slender girl she sure was heavier than she looked.

Belenos nimbly used his booted foot to push the door's handle down and firmly kicked it open. He didn't mean to drop her though, but it happened and she hit the outside ground with a thump. The student with lightning speed shut the door behind him and rushed to his friend's side.

"Shit, shit, shit. Emma I'm so bloody sorry." He said in a hushed tone as he crouched over her and tried to pick her up again. His mind raced with fear of them being caught because of his clumsiness.

"Oww my arm hurts… what's going on?" She mumbled and grumbled as she was lifted back up. For a brief moment Emma thought she was still in the dream, still with Regina, but snapped out of that daze quickly when she opened her eyes more to gaze up at a dark figure. She freaked and swung at the figure, connecting her open palm with its face, which made a loud clapping sound.

"Emma, stop!" Belenos commanded at his distressed friend. He groaned with pain, it was another thing he'd underestimated, that she was stronger than she looked.

"Belenos?!" Emma hissed while rolling out of his arms. She landed on her feet and tumbled to the ground, flinging her head up and peering at him in the twilight. She stood up almost immediately, grabbing at his shirt and shaking him firmly. "What the Hel is wrong with you?" She asked in an angry tone.

He clamped a large hand against the blonde's mouth and pulled her away from the roundhouse. Emma didn't fight him. She wanted answers and guessed if she just went with his insane movements he'd explain it all to her.

Once the both of them were closer to the training field, Belenos let go of Emma and was meet with the full force of a very powerful fist to his right arm.

"By the gods! You're so much stronger than you look – ugh!" He rubbed his arm as waves of pain shot up it. He thought that she may have hit a nerve causing it to feel worse than what it really was.

"What were you thinking?!" Emma hissed at him, trying to keep her voice low. "I was sleep, I was…" Emma eased back as she remembered what was going on moments ago as she slept. "I was resting and you came along and woke me up. So whatever this is it better well worth what you just took me away from." She paced about looking around to see if anyone was approaching them.

"You can make kissy face with your pillow another night, Swan." He flinched as Emma clenched her jaw and moved to punch his throbbing arm again. "Ah, wait, no! I have a really good, no exceptional reason why I brought you out here." He held up his arms desperate to protect his body.

Emma huffed and let her arm drop by her side. She then flung her head back to moan in annoyance. "What could possibly be so important that you risk us getting into trouble by doing this?" She dramatically shrugged at him. "What, what is it Belenos?"

"I want to know what the falcon was up to."' He peered out in the direction of the forest, his eyes momentarily flashed.

Emma wanted to scream at him, but it was his eyes odd reflectiveness that halted her from doing so. She studied them silently as he looked back at her.

"Why are your eyes like that?" She asked as she took a few steps closer to him, examining them closer.

Belenos grinned but didn't answer her right away as he pulled out another cloak from his satchel for Emma to take, even if it was summer and the wind wasn't blowing, he didn't want to get sick and her neither. He also pulled out her boots, which he picked up before waking her.

"Here put these on and follow me, I'll explain it all." He waited for his friend to put on her boots and cloak, tying it at the front before grabbing her by the hand and headed towards the forest.

"So, you know how I have been sneaking into Master Drui Cian's room, well I found some old books on how our ancestors use to be able to use magic to shape shift. At least parts of them it seems." He was pulled to a stop and made to turn around by Emma's firm tug. Belenos' eye's reflected against the light of the waning moon as he saw a shocked look plastered on the blonde's face.

"You have been doing what?!" She hissed while holding his hand tightly to keep him continuing to walk.

"Oh I forgot to tell you that. Er, yeah I've been slipping in through the Drui's window and grabbing a book at a time, swapping them over of course. I don't want to be caught, do I now?" He smiled at his roguish ability. Emma however didn't smile back. As her forehead creased considerably more, her mouth headed the other way, becoming down turned.

"You are completely insane." She whispered, her arched brows lifting up to emphasize the remark.

"Oh Emma stop being so dramatic. I figured he wouldn't be looking at them as he's blind and all." He glanced away from her and looked towards the nearby forest. "Sometimes you have to take risks." He looked back at her. "Sometimes you have to fight back your fear and allow you're curiosity to guide you to discovery. Trust in yourself, be brave, or you'll never unearth what you're capable of." He squeezed her hand and tugged it gently to encourage her to follow him again.

Emma sucked in both of her lips while darting her eyes about briefly, reflecting of what he said. Something about it seemed to ring a deep sense of truth inside her, and against her own judgement the blonde nodded. "Okay, I'll try to be brave. But this doesn't mean you're off the hook about waking me up in the middle of the night to search for a bloody bird."

As they neared the end of the barrier Emma paused, she hadn't been past it, not since the day she arrived. But taking on the new approach her friend offered, she willed herself to go beyond the translucent walls. Feeling the barrier buckle around her, she could hear more crickets and animals making noises off in the distance.

"I didn't know the barrier blocked out noise as well?" She blurted and held Belenos still as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, listening to the strange sounds around her.

"Yeah the barrier blocks out some noises, or we'd be found pretty easily. It's just common sense really." He watched her face broaden with a sweet smile, as if she hadn't been outside in a long time, which was silly because she was outside almost every day. He slowly realised as he stared at her that Emma hadn't been beyond the barrier and in a way she was now totally free. This was in a way her first time out outside.

"Hey, you know how I was saying before, about the shape shifting thing?" He asked as Emma slowly opened her eyes and gazed at him, humming to indicate she was paying attention.

"Well I've been practising, in secret, and I've managed to pick up how to change my eyes to take in light of night. I think the animal is an owl, but I can't quite tell, the words are of the old tongue so it's difficult to understand." He chewed at a thumbnail thinking back on how he cast a few bad transformations before getting it correct.

Emma gave him a blank look, not bothering to scold him for doing something that could have had a catastrophic effect, as it would clearly be a waste of her time. She just continued listening to him go on.

"So now I can see in the dark, well for a certain amount of time, which means we have to hurry up." Belenos clasped his friend's hand and dragged her off into the forest.

Emma clung to him as she couldn't see anything, occasionally feeling a branch brush up against her, among an assortment of other unfamiliar things. It felt like an hour has passed by the time Belenos stopped Emma, yanking her down behind a tree.

"There's something out there, I can't quite see what it is, but I think it's been tracking us for the last ten or so minutes." He whispered into the blonde's ear. Emma didn't make a single move, as she was afraid that if she did whatever was following them would hear it.

The young man let go of Emma and placed his right hand in her shoulder, letting her know in silence that she had to stay where she was. He peered around the tree, searching off in the distance, his eyes glinting.

Emma heard a few dry sticks snap a short distance from where they were hiding. She hated no being able to see anything more than a few feet away, and even then she could hardly make out what she was looking at.

Belenos bent down and leaned against the blonde, bringing his mouth close to her ear. "I think it's her, the wild woman." He whispered lower than before. His almost inaudible voice made Emma's heart rush. He wouldn't be this quiet if it wasn't so close, she thought.

Belenos patted the blonde on her shoulder as he stood and then took off into the forest. Emma jerked her head around trying to see where he went, but couldn't make out any movement. "Belenos? Belenos?!" She hissed while grasping the tree trunk like it was her only life support in the vast sea of night. Emma held her breath to hear better, but her pounding heart made it hard to hear anything. She cursed herself for having such an easily startled body.

"Over here Emma! It's okay she won't hurt you." He rushed back towards his friend, grabbing her hands and guiding her into a small clearing. Emma tightened the grip she had on his cloak, after he let go of her hands. She wasn't going to let go of his cloak, just in case he wanted to run off on her again.

The clouds moved away from the waning moon high above them, allowing more light to collect below. Emma could see three massive stone statues which all appeared to be of the same creature in different poses. She tried to make out what they were but it was frivolous.

"What are those things?" she asked Belenos while pointing at them, still holding his cloak with the other hand.

"Those are the totems of the three bears, they guard the outskirts of the barrier, this is their shrine and it's where the Bendrui bring offerings to them." He turned around, eye's still reflecting, and leaned in closer to her.

"I thought you'd been told this stuff before? Didn't Drui Oran tell you of it when he took you and the other's to collect herbs years ago?" His tone became concerned over her lack of awareness about things. He was taught this stuff early on when he was first at the grove. He began to wonder if certain things were purposely hidden from her, which would be something he'd want to find out a _why_ to, if not for his curiosity, then for Emma's own sake.

Emma shrugged. She didn't want to appear ignorant in front of him, even if Belenos was the closet person to her since Red, she still wanted him to think she was at least half switched on.

"I must have missed that part." She was going to ask him where the wild woman was, but she heard something sweep past them and into the brush. Emma cried out from the sudden movement, quickly slapping a hand against her mouth to stop it from completely escaping.

Belenos chuckled at her and started to walk in the direction where the thing had gone. Emma slowly followed, as his cloak tugged her along.

"Hey Emma, ease up on your grip, my cloak is choking me." He asked her as he tried to loosen the tie at the front, giving him a bit more room to breathe.

"You'll be more than just choking if I let go of your cloak. I'm not being left behind again." She remarked, still slightly annoyed about him taking off before. Emma could hear him sigh, but he didn't argue with her about and so she remained with a firm fistful of the cloak, only marginally letting it ease up.

They continued on into the dark thick forest, as twigs and branches slapped and poked at them. Emma voiced she wanted to turn back, but Belenos said he had no intention of turning around now, not when they were so close to the cave. The blonde didn't like the sound of a cave. It could have anything living in it.

Within a few moments they had reached another small clearing, Emma guessed this one was larger than the last, but couldn't be sure. "Is she here, this wild woman?" The blonde questioned with a hint of fear.

"Yep, and that is her cave over there." He tried to walk away from Emma but was choked back as she pulled down on the cloak. Belenos started to cough while he flailed his arms about at the blonde, and settled his hands on her tightly gripping hand, fingering at her fist to unclench it. "What the Hel Emma, that was not okay." He spat at her and coughed hard again.

"What did I just say before?" She spat back at him.

"How about the both of you stop being fucking babies and shut the Hel up, or do I have to make you?" A stern guttural tone bounced off the cave's interior, which acted like a megaphone, increasing the volume to echo out at the pair as they scuffled with one another.

They both froze and clung to one another as if they had seen some ungodly beast. "Is that her?" Emma whimpered to Belenos. She could hear him swallow before answering with a hushed yes.

"How about you both fuck off and leave me alone." the female's guttural voice came again.

Emma bit the inside of her mouth, fighting the urge to yell out and lecture the wild woman on her crude language. She thought Merlin would have had a fit if he heard it.

"Perhaps you were right Emma, we should go." Belenos jerked Emma away from the semi seen cave under the moon light. But the blonde felt she wasn't going to leave just yet, her curiosity was pricked and as her friend said; face you're fears , be brave and discover.

"No, I want to see her." She firmly pulled away from her friend and strode towards the mouth of the cave.

"Emma!" He cried out.

Belenos was beside himself, all he could think of was his friend being torn to bits by three giant bears. "Emma, you have no idea what's in there, I was stupid, stop!" He yelled at her, but saw she continued at the same pace towards the cave.

He stamped his foot and dove after her. "I was wrong about facing stuff. We totally need to run away from this one." He pleaded.

Emma ignored him and went straight into the cave, disappearing from Belenos' sight. He cursed under his breath on the magic's effect wearing off at the most inopportune time. Slowly approaching the cave he heard Emma cry out, her voice bouncing of the walls.

"Emma!" He yelled out, his voice reverberating as hers did. His training kicked in now, as instinct took over. Belenos summon a fireball and ran headlong into the cave. The interior was nothing he'd expect it to be, as there were various paintings displayed it colours of reds, blacks, and whites. He paused for a moment, taking in the large scale of images, marvelling at their simple construction.

"Get off me!" Emma cried out.

Belenos spun around, holding his hand high in the air, letting the fires light illuminate two figures across from him.

"Tap out, little blonde." The wild woman commanded through gritted teeth.

Emma's eyes bulged as she was laid down, body flat, on the dirt ground. Her arms spread out in front of her as the wild woman held her down in a headlock.

"Hey, let go of my friend, Aureate!" He yelled, willing the fireball to burn brighter and larger. It was a tricky bluff. Using magic drained a person, no matter how skilled they were. It was the same for a long distance runner, you had to pace yourself and if you ran too quickly you'd burn out too soon.

The wild woman slowly turned her head to face him. Her golden eyes gleam with the fire's light. While Belenos had only heard about the sister of the three bears, and was told about what she looked like, he would have never guessed in his wildest dreams her true features.

"You're fucking next boy." She growled at him, a cruel smile gliding across her face.

Belenos' eyes bulged just as much as Emma's did now. He stared at the woman, as she sneered into the blonde's ear, repeating the same words; tap out little blonde.

The wild woman's dirty straw coloured hair was a complete mess, matted beyond any hope. No amount of brushing would ever sort it out, Belenos thought.

"Just tap out, it's so fucking simple you moron." Aureate sneered into Emma's ear.

The blonde was losing it, she hated feeling helpless and all she could think about was when she left Merlin behind, how she ran away and cried. A tear tumbled down her cheek, splashing onto the dry dirt underneath her.

"I'll use this fireball on you, if you don't let Emma Swan go, now!" Belenos yelled at the wild woman.

Aureate stilled, but kept a firm grip on the teen. She peered up at the young man and turned her head slightly to the side. "What did you just call her?" She asked in a low and deep tone.

Belenos flinched for a moment, scared at the woman's feral demeanour. "I-I said Emma…" He gulped, and tried to stop himself from shaking.

"No… what did you say after that?" The woman's voice was lower than before. A slight growl escaped her throat near the end of the question.

"_Swan_?" He croaked in a small voice. The fireball flickered as it was slowly shrunk in his palm. Belenos forced himself to control his breathing and willed the fireball back to a medium size again. He tried to stay focused, but it was hard when he constantly felt like this beast of a woman could attack him at any moment.

Aureate frowned at the name. She mumbled something to herself that he couldn't understand. That's because it was in a different language as he caught a few sparse words.

The golden eyed woman immediately let go of Emma and sprung to her feet. "I'm so fucking sorry, I am the moron." She knelt down and bowed her head, not moving from her spot.

Emma gingerly got up while swiping away the tear and dirt from her face, she eyed Belenos and then the wild woman, with a completely puzzled look on her face. The blonde opened her mouth and then closed it, only to open it again. She was so confused about the whole situation.

Belenos reached out at his friend with his free hand and gently pulled her closer. He took a protective step in front of Emma, while holding the fireball out at the wild woman, just in case she lunged at them.

Aureate didn't move though, she remained kneeling, showing no sign of moving. Emma didn't know what caused this puzzling change to occur. The blonde was about to ask the wild woman a question but was interrupted by her.

"Forgive me Swan, I fucked up." Aureate lifted her head ever so slightly to peer at Emma through her matted straw coloured hair.

Emma's forehead creased as she lifted her arched brows higher up, her lips thinned as she turned and looked at Belenos. He looked sacred, but remained determined to protect both of them. Emma sucked both her lips in, and closed her eyes, she was petrified of her, but she had to know why her last name caused the wild woman to shift in character.

The teen lightly placed a hand on Belenos' chest and gave him a caring look. "Let me speak to her, okay." She said to him in a calm tone.

Belenos raised a single brow at her, which for a second reminded Emma of Merlin, but she quickly focused on the wild woman. He nodded at her and took a small step to the side to let her pass.

Emma reluctantly edged closer to Aureate, her legs felt weak with fear, but she pushed on. Once Emma felt she was close enough, she opened her mouth to confront the wild woman.

"Why are you sorry? Why is the name Swan so important to you?" Emma asked, her voice breaking occasionally in fear. She cursed herself for sounding weak, but tried to look past it, being negative wasn't going to help.

Aureate fully raised her head up and gazed at Emma. Her golden eyes darted up and down the teen's body. "You are the Swan, no? The one who Freyja, the All Mother brought back to save our world?" The wild woman shifted her eyes from Emma and then to Belenos, letting them come back to settle on the blonde again.

Emma moved her lower jaw, mouthing the word '_what_?' as she turned to look at Belenos and then quickly back at the wild woman. "What are you talking about?" The teen's voice strained as she felt like this was still a dream. That she was still asleep and at any moment she would wake up and be in her bed again.

Aureate turned her head to the side and frowned at the blonde. She sprung to her feet, which cause both Emma and Belenos to jerk with the movement, but it went unnoticed on the wild woman as she darted to her right, stopping at the cave wall. She slapped her hands against the rock, causing the sound to echo out. "Here, this is you, you're the Swan." The wild woman said with conviction, as if it would explain the many questions Emma had flying around in her head.

Belenos frowned at Emma, and they both cautiously neared the woman and the cave wall. Belenos raised his arm up above their heads, letting the fireball illuminate the surface.

"What the Hel…" Were the only words to slip out of the teen's mouth as she stared at the picture.

Emma and Belenos looked at one another, their mouths open marginally, and then they both slowly turned back to view the image. It was the only picture to have a variety of colours and it was unlike any other in the cave, at least from what Belenos saw early on.

Aureate grinned while sliding her hand up and down just slightly away from the drawing.

On the wall of the cave was a painting of a female. She had a massive set of white wings that were lifted up high, as if they were giant shields. She was also holding a sword in one hand. The blade was horizontal as the female held it up to the sky.

Emma eyed the image, she guessed the woman looked very similar to her, but it could have been any blonde haired, green eyed, female. The teen knew she didn't own a single weapon, let alone a sword. And if she had wings, she would definitely have known about it.

"That's not me, that can't be me." She said, shaking her head in disbelief. Emma backed away from the drawing, shooting a look of despair at Belenos and Aureate. The teen couldn't take this any more, she wouldn't. This was all some sort of elaborate joke and she wasn't going to stick around any longer.

Before either of them could react, the blonde darted away and fled towards the entry of the cave. Belenos glanced at the wild woman. The pair stared at each other briefly before dashing off after her.

* * *

**Yurihentai641 - Um no, not that I'm against futa, I'm just not having any of the characters in this story built that way. And I'm sorry I don't know what /g/p means, I'm a n00b with stuff still. Thank you for leaving a comment though.**

**zerodarkwolf - Thanks, now I'm addicted to folk metal. No seriously thank you, I love it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

**I start term 2 for university on the 30th of this month, so I may not update as regular as I want or can. But I will try my damndest to keep it coming.**


	11. Chapter 11

**_I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time._**

* * *

The juvenile apple tree wobbled as its owner sheared away some of the thin branches in a desperate fashion. Regina stood back to eye her handy work and sighed in disappointment, instinctually knowing that she was doing something wrong.

Tink held the '_An Orchardist's Guide_' book firmly up to check the picture against Regina's tree. It looked nothing like it should have, at least from what the image dictated. "I think you're supposed to have more branches further down, here look." The woman walked over to Regina and held the manual up for her to see the image.

The princess took hold of one side of the guide, while the handmaiden held the other. They both peered at the picture and then the tree, doing this a few times before the handmaiden spoke again.

"See, it's supposed to look like this by its third year, but yours has most of its branches higher up and bunched together." Tink was trying to give productive advice, pointing out where it had gone. Thankfully Regina took it the way the handmaid had intended her to.

"Oh no, this is horrible. I've ruined it." The princess huffed as she walked towards the juvenile tree, using the hooked blade to cut away some of the higher branches. Regina wished she could just wave her hand and make it all better, but under no circumstances was the brunette allowed to use a single spell or a lick of magic on the tree. Maleficent said that by cultivating and taking care of something without magic would teach her how to cope with the absence of her extra abilities. That everything cannot be simply fixed or manufactured by magic alone. The princess would still beg to differ, as she thought the whole thing was a waste of time, but inexplicably Regina had grown attached to the side project and started to care about the young tree's health.

Tink watched the princess become progressively more distressed with each removal of the plants tenuous limbs. The handmaiden bit her lower lip while frowning slightly and decided that she should interfere, as something was clearly wrong with the brunette and it had nothing to do with pruning the apple tree.

"I think you've got it, it looks more like the picture now." Tink briskly moved in beside the princess and gently took the hooked tool away from Regina's trembling hand. The small tremor did not go unnoticed by Tink as the princess tugged her hand away to clasp it with the other.

"What's the matter Regina?" Tink asked in a hushed tone, so no one wandering by could hear the handmaiden address the princess by her first name. Even though Regina and she had become friends, there were still rules the woman had to abide by.

The brunette eyed her briefly before turning and walking away. Regina wasn't being rude, it was just she didn't want to talk about it in the open with anyone being able to hear their conversation. Tink quickly caught on and they wandered further into the castle's impressive gardens, following a path that led out to were the roses grew.

Regina fiddled with her hands as they walked quietly for a short time, before the handmaiden broke the silence by asking the same question she had before.

"I'm just disappointed about the apple tree." Regina finally replied.

Tink wasn't going to give up though, no matter how evasive the brunette wished to be. "Regina there's clearly something else bothering you." Tink reached out and placed a caring hand on the princess's forearm, causing the brunette to stop. The handmaiden bent her head slightly forward, giving a concerned look.

"We've been friends for some time now, and in that period I've come to know most of your body's expressive language. Right now it's telling me you're stressed about something, and it's not just the apple tree." She shifted her eyes down the princess's body and then rested them back on Regina's face, pointing out silently what she was seeing.

Regina bit her lower lip while giving a strained look, as if it was painful for her to even think about the problem.

"I dreamt about _him_ again, a few nights ago." The brunette finally admitted, deciding that it was pointless keeping it from Tinker Bell, as she had a way of getting information out of Regina. The princess didn't mind it for the most part, she'd actually come to admire the woman's tenacious attitude towards her welfare.

Tink jerked her head back with the news. A grin quickly grew across her fair skinned face. "That's wonderful!" She exclaimed, while sliding both of her hands over the princess's, to cup them firmly together. "That's nothing to upset about, you were so happy with the last dream you had about the blonde stranger." She reminded Regina sweetly.

The brunette didn't look into her friend's eyes, as she chewed on her lower lip again.

Tink gently tugged on the princess's hands to get her attention. But Regina still refused to look at her.

"Oh no, what happened, did the dream go badly this time around?" Tink pulled herself closer to her friend as her caring nature willed her to.

Regina finally eyed Tink, because of the closeness, but the brunette did not pull away.

"Would I sound foolish if I told you that I suspect it may not be quite a dream?" The brunette asked in a low tone.

Tink frowned at her and edged back ever so slightly with the question. "No. What makes you say that?"

Regina closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at the bench near them. The brunette offered the handmaiden to sit next to her, as she sat down hastily. When her friend was clearly comfortable Regina leaned in and continued to explain herself.

"Well when I spoke to him in my dream, it wasn't like before. I knew I was in control last time, but something had or has changed. It was as if he had free will, as if it was a real person." As the words fell from the brunette's lips she thought she surely sounded insane, and Tinker Bell would never see her as being someone normal again. But the more Regina explained how the blonde stranger acted differently, the more the handmaiden nodded at her.

"Well sometimes our minds like to challenge how we perceive a situation, to test our reaction to something. Perhaps, and I'm just saying this as a possibility, you're used to getting your way, in a sense, so I guess your dream decided to test how you would react if you were… _denied_?" Tink slowly paused as she wasn't sure what actually happened in the princess's dream, but assumed it was something to do with a demand the brunette made and the fellow must have said no, or something along that line.

Regina quietly thought over her friend's advice. "I think I understand what you mean. That in a way my own fantasy was rebelling against me, to see how I would deal with the scenario." Regina paused in thought and thanked Tinker Bell for her honesty. Now feeling slightly better about the situation, Regina decided that it no longer demanded any more of her attention, well at least that part didn't.

Although the princess dearly wished to dream about the elusive _Emma_ again, she couldn't let slip to Tinker Bell the blonde stranger wasn't a man. Not that the brunette was ashamed of fantasizing about another female. She just felt that if it got back to her mother it would be her reaction the princess feared the most. It was in her best interests to remain quiet about the real gender of her midnight desires. For now the small things she hinted about it to her friend was enough for her not to become lost in a many a daydream.

Regina felt the subject had been discussed long enough and voiced how she was hungry and they should head towards the dining hall for lunch. Tink nodded enthusiastically while pulling the princess to her feet and asked her for more information, even if Regina clearly didn't want to talk about it any longer.

* * *

"No, no, no!" Cried the wizard as he jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flying boulder.

Scathach had seen the whole incident unfold and thankful that her friend wasn't killed. "You stupid girl, you could of killed him!" she yelled.

Zelena looked at the redhead defensively, but immediately brought her attention back to the possibly hurt wizard. She raced over to him apologising continually, even when he said he was fine repeatedly.

"My dear please stop fussing, I'm absolutely, positively okay." He said, emphasising the words _absolutely_ and _positively_ in the hopes it would sink in and she would stop insisting she was sorry. No one was injured, the danger had been averted and this would be a good lesson for her to learn.

Scathach clenched her jaw showing further disapproval of what just transpired, but remained silent. The redhead brought her left hand down to rest it on the hilt of her sword and paced about to check if anyone was possibly spying on the trio.

"I'll try to be more careful next time. I swear I didn't know that I'd throw it, I was trying to lift it like you asked me to." Zelena said in a rushed manner, as if the wizard might punish her for the incompetents like Sascha had.

Merlin smiled and placed both hands on the clearly anxious woman's shoulders. "I understand dear." He said. "You have an exceptional level of power and in time you will learn how to harness and control it, more so than you do now." He raised his brows at her as he spoke while tilting his head slightly forward to make sure she was paying attention.

The wizard had been training Marco and Archie's daughter in secret, for almost a month, even though he and Scathach had been on the island for almost three years. It had taken Marco that long before he finally took Merlin up on the offer. The wizard suggested he could teach her many times before, but Marco insisted that it was far too dangerous and he didn't want either of them to be caught. It actually took both Archie and Merlin to convince Marco in the end that it would be okay if it was done in an isolated area, safe from prying eyes.

Merlin knew of a little hidden area in one of the woods on the island, it was located away from most of the large city's outreach. He had also placed a magical shield on location so no one would find them by accident if a person was traversing the woods. It had the same properties as the one at the Grove of Druids, in fact it was exact same spell as it was he who had cast the the magical barrier there in the first place. The wizard hoped that Master Cian was still managing a level of maintains it require from time to time. He remembered the day clearly as the invisible walls shot up and over the camp away, hiding it way to protect its occupants from possible danger.

"Maybe you should teach her something else? I think moving large objects like a boulder isn't the safest of options." Scathach voiced as she stopped pacing and stood near a tree to shade her body from the afternoon sun.

Merlin gave her a blank look. "I'm confident in Zelena's abilities to perform whatever I ask her to, and while I appreciate your advice _Sascha_, I think you should let me decided what she is ready for and not." He commented sternly. The wizard wasn't angry with the redhead. He just wanted to prevent any negative influences from invading Zelena's mind. If she doubted herself then her magic could become chaotic and cause more problems. Merlin could tell it was her emotional status that influenced the magic's capacity, the higher her emotional stress, the more powerful it became. Keeping her calm was the key to making sure she remained in control of those abilities.

"Now Zelena, try to imagine a gentle breeze, close your eyes if you have to." He watched her nod at him and then shut her eyes as they continued the lesson.

"Remember, gentle breeze. Your magic is like the wind…" Merlin paused with a thought. "Well metaphorically speaking. Actually I suspect you could cast elemental magic very well, but this isn't that sort of magic, no arcane magic is different because -" He paused as he saw the amber haired woman look at him with one eye open, her face partially scrunching up as she became confused by what he was saying.

Merlin coughed and straightened himself up, causing Zelena to quickly shut her eye and relaxed again with the action. The wizard knew this was a problem he had and this was another reason why he sent Emma to the Grove. Even if he knew a vast amount about magic, he wasn't teacher material. No it took a different kind of person to do that. Having knowledge and teaching knowledge were two very different things. But he pushed on, determined to be useful.

"Hmm. Now as I was saying before. Image your magic is like a gentle breeze and this gentle breeze can lift objects slowly and smoothly from one spot to another. Okay you can open your eyes now." He said.

Zelena thinned her lips and ever so slightly pushed her eyebrows together in concentration. She focused on the boulder that she had tossed aside before. The young woman raised her arms, willing the large rock to gingerly lift up and hoover in the air for a few moments.

Zelena grinned as she slowly brought the boulder back down. "I did it." She stated pleasantly.

Merlin smiled broadly with the progress his pupil was making in such a short time. He wished he had been able to teacher her sooner, but it was better late than never, he thought.

"Hey Merlin, it's time to start heading back now, the sun is at its highest." Scathach commented while walking towards both the wizard and student. She pointed up to indicate the sun's location.

The trio gathered their things and trekked back to the south side of the city.

Zelena thanked Merlin for the lesson and ducked away into her father's shop, leaving Scathach and the wizard outside to roam back to where they were staying.

"Well I have to admit Zelena is getting better, even if she almost killed you." The redhead commented as she adjusted the strap on her left should. The boiled leather armour seemed to have crawled back unknowingly to her. "Hey Merlin, can you help-"

Merlin cut the redhead's question off by hooking his fingers in the opening of her leather neck brace and forcefully tugged her to one side, pulling her down behind a bunch of different shaped crates.

"Hey, what the Hel is the matter with you?" She spat, clearly not amused by her friend's sudden manhandling of her. The redhead gripped the hilt of her sword with her right hand as she felt uneasy about his abruptness.

The wizard ignored the question while edging cautiously around the corner of a crate, his hand coming to land on Scathach's chest forcing her to stay still. The warrior, becoming impatient, decided she would find her own peeking hole. Scathach bobbed her head about until she could see through a slit between two crates and saw what she guessed Merlin was looking at, as an oddly dressed person walked with purpose past the crates and then stopped a few feet away.

It was hard for Scathach to see their armour's detail, but from where she could tell it was mostly in the colours of black and red. The shoulders and lower half of the leather outfit were decorated with small metal circles, similar to coins. They also fashioned a broad mantle which had a long very dark red cape clasped to it. And just above the mantle the person wore a pointed helmet, chain mail hanging in three parts to cover their face completely, except for the eyes. Scathach thought whoever it was they didn't want to expose anything about them self, at all.

They both peered silently from the hiding place as the stranger pulled out a small piece of parchment, studying it for a moment before looking up and around the market area. Merlin pushed even harder on the redhead's chest, trying to get her to duck down more. But Scathach didn't take to it as she swiped his hand away and tsked with annoyance.

The oddly dressed person moved again and disappeared down an alley way beyond Marco's establishment. Merlin looked at his friend and wiped a small bead of sweat away that had built up on his forehead, causing the warrior to frown at him as they both got up. What was so intimidating about one person that her friend would perspire over, Scathach thought.

"Who was that?!" She asked in a puzzled tone.

Merlin shook his head from side to side, partly in disbelief, and partly in fear. That person wasn't supposed to be here, they weren't meant to come until later in the year. Something must have changed the timeline from playing out the way he had foreseen it. Did Freyja do something he didn't anticipate, was it even her doing, he questioned on. What implications would this have?

Scathach huffed and grabbed Merlin's shoulder, squeezing it firmly, knowing this was a sure way to get Merlin's complete attention. The wizard flung his head to look at her from the pain she was starting to inflict on him. The warrior eased her grip once she knew she had he was no longer internalising things.

"Who was that?" Scathach asked sternly while leaving a hand on her sword.

"That-that was the Coiled Dragon… That was Panlong." He stopped and looked back in the direction the person had occupied only a moment ago.

The warrior peered at Merlin, her eyes becoming more and more slitted and then closed them as her face scrunched up. "Wh-what?!" Scathach stammered.

Merlin didn't explain, but grabbed her again and pulled the warrior towards a pub a few stores down. He needed to hide them both somewhere he knew the dragon would probably not enter, and if they did it would be too crowed anyhow. Once they both entered the establishment he chose the far right corner table of the pub as it was amongst the most rowdy and populated patrons.

As they both approached the table a few grizzly looking men eyed them, tankards in hand. "Move" Scathach commanded through gritted teeth as she clutched the hilt of her sword hanging from her hip.

The occupants looked at one another and judged that it wasn't worth their time to fight a thin old man and a butch looking woman over a seating area. They spat a few profound things at them both and shifted away to occupy another drinking table.

Merlin slid into the partly beer dampened seat, adjusting his robes to pool between his knees. Scathach dropped down on a chair to the other side of the square table, pulling her sword to one side. "So, are you going to explain to me who this Panlong is, or are you just going to dance around the topic?" The warrior asked in an almost mocking tone.

"I don't think their name isn't Panlong any more, in fact _she_ has probably given herself a new one since giving up her dragon form." He held his hand up for a bar maiden to come over and then continued the conversation. "Give me a few moments to reflect, I'm sure I know of the new name from somewhere, I just need a little time. I suspect it was the same person who Graham saw years ago in fact." The wizard flicked his head towards the busty bar maiden and ordered a jug of whatever beer they had.

Merlin watched the maiden get their drinks while being taunted by other patrons and head back towards their table hastily. While this was going on Scathach pulled the other chair across from her with a foot and flung her legs up to place them on the curved surface, thinking if they were going to be here long enough to drink she may as well get comfortable.

The bar maiden grinned as she plopped the jug down in the middle of the table and then placed a wooden cup in front of each of them. As this was going on Scathach caught a strange woman to the left of her on the other side of the pub staring at them.

The dark haired woman studied her briefly and then glanced away. Scathach was unsure if the woman was actually watching them or just happened to be deep in thought and this was the spot her eyes had fell upon in contemplation.

"Will that be all?" The busty maiden asked in a cheery tone. Merlin nodded a yes and smiled at her. The wizard poured his friend a drink first and then himself.

"Okay so I think it started with the letter _M_." he continued muttering to himself about the subject, but the many words were lost on Scathach as she kept glancing over her shoulder to see if the woman was still watching them.

"Mu-lin? No, no… Mu…" Merlin tapped his finger hard against the table's surface as he strained his mind to recall the name Graham had told him years ago. But found it hard to concentrate as his thoughts kept creeping back to why she was here, as the timing was off and it unsettled him greatly.

Scathach didn't move her head this time. Instead she had sat herself in such a position that she could turn her eyes in the direction to see if the woman was staring at them. The redhead continued to observe the suspicious woman and drank her stale tasting beer while ignoring Merlin's rambling.

The darked haired beauty suddenly stood and strutted towards the wizard and warrior, pushing side a few men on her way through clearly displaying her displeased attitude.

Once Scathach saw the woman was almost at their table she spat a mouth full of drink to the side and fumbled to get her newly crossed legs off the chair in front of her. But they dropped abruptly as the seat they were resting on was dragged away.

The dark haired woman lifted the chair up slightly and slammed it hard against the wooden floor, before flipping it around and spreading her legs out to sit on it. She leant her chest into the backrest while pulling out a dagger tucked into her belt.

Merlin jolted from the sudden noise and movement close to him. As he turned his head, he felt a very sharp object rest against the inside of his leg.

Scathach was about to get up, her hand clasped tightly around the swords hilt and started to pull it free from the scabbard. She didn't get very far as the woman ordered her to keep the metal sheathed and strangely enough Scathach complied letting go of her sword, then coming to settle back in the seat. The redhead was confident that she could kill her without it anyway.

"Hello Merlin." Milah said to the wizard as she pushed the dagger ever so slightly into the inner of his thigh. The wizard gulped and gave the Pirate Queen a nervous smile.

"Do you want to hear a funny story?" Milah gazed at them both, a menacing grin slid across her face with the question.

From what Scathach could tell this woman was pissed and wondered what Merlin must have done to earn her wrath. The redhead decided to answer her though, as Merlin clearly wasn't going to.

"No. We don't want to, so I suggest you kindly piss off before I make you." Scathach answered as she grabbed her half-filled cup and gulped the rest down in one go. No matter what the wizard may have done, she was going to defend him.

Merlin's eyes widened at his friends lack of perception to see that he had a very sharp dagger close to a main vain on the inner of his leg. He had contemplated about using magic, but knew if he did there would be too many witnesses. King David's law still held and Merlin couldn't give up his presence to the royal pair just yet.

The wizard sighed. This was turning out to be a horrible day. He was almost bludgeoned by a boulder, seen the Coiled Dragon way ahead of schedule and now a pirate had a weapon brandished at him… Merlin gave the last one a moment more of thought, as it was his fault that it had even occurred.

"I beg your pardon?" Milah asked in disbelief towards Sascha while noting this wasn't the same person she rescued from drowning a few years ago.

Milah pulled the dagger away from the wizard and slid it back into her belt. The captain would have plenty of time to question him over the stolen parchment, but right now all that Milah could think of was Sascha's harsh answer.

"_Sascha_?" The pirate queen asked in a questioning tone.

Scathach gave her an odd look and then realised that this person must have known her before she had been returned to her former self. Scathach remembered that on the following day, after she was brought back by Odin, Mimir told her that she must refer him as Merlin and that she had to go by the name Sascha. Other people would remember her as that person and if Scathach didn't play along then they would arouse suspicion. As it was Merlin had to clear the memories of the priests seeing them at the shrine that night and so Scathach begrudgingly took on the peculiar name.

"_Yes?_" she answered back slowly. The warrior fought back the urge to bite the corner of her thumb nail, feeling anxious about not knowing what to say to the unknown woman.

"I'm sure you remember Captain Milah, don't you Sascha." Merlin said to his friend, trying to get the redhead to catch on and pretend she knew her. "You know the pirate that saved your life about three years ago, when you almost drowned. And that month we spent on her ship to get here." Merlin tilted his head forward at the redhead.

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Scathach drawled out as if it was coming back to her, which it wasn't. The redhead hadn't even seen this woman before today. And was sure she would never drown, ever, she was an excellent swimmer. But gathered that the person she was before must have been quite useless in a manner of many things.

Milah eyed them both suspiciously. "What is going on? Why is Sascha acting that way?" she asked the wizard and then turned back to look at the redhead. "What happened to your face Sascha, when did you get _scars_?" The captain leaned against the chair more and studied the redhead closer.

Feeling unexpectedly self-conscious Scathach leaned back to retreat from the woman's intense grey eyes. "Nothing's wrong with my face, so stop staring at me." The warrior demanded in a rough voice while sliding a hand up across her face, as if it would erase some of her unwanted features.

"Oh something is definitely wrong." Milah exclaimed. She turned abruptly to face Merlin, anger drawn on her face. "What did you do to her, wizard?" she hissed.

Merlin's eyes widened and darted about to check if anyone else had heard Milah call him a wizard. Luckily it seemed that everyone was too busy caring about whatever was going on at their table to bother with the trio. He couldn't be sure though and had to neutralise the situation at once.

"Captain Milah could we talk somewhere else, I think this isn't the best of places to discuss." He paused and looked at Scathach. "This type of thing, but before we can go, I need to you swear an oath." He turned to give the pirate queen a serious glare. If they were going to get from one place to another it would have to be fast, and so he had no time to waste with small talk.

"What type of oath Merlin? You should know I don't swear on anything, frankly no pirate does." Milah said, while eyeing Sascha suspiciously.

Merlin stroked his beard. "I won't tell you a thing unless you swear an oath, that's my final offer, so take it or leave it." The wizard looked at the redhead and gave her the slightest of nods, letting her know that if they needed to get out of here she would provide the muscle.

Scathach sniffed loudly to indicate she understood what he was secretly implying. The redhead slowly placed her had on her sword in ready when he gave the signal.

Milah missed the secret conversation between the two as she weighed up the request. "If I swear this oath then you have to give back my scroll and tell me exactly what is going on, I want to know everything. Don't try to underhand me Merlin, I will find out." She finally answered, patting a hand on her dagger while looking at the wizard letting him know she was also serious.

Meanwhile the whole pub was blissfully unaware of what was transpiring within the room as the air around the three seemed to thicken.

"So what is this oath then?" Milah asked blankly.

"You must swear an oath that what I have to tell you can never be spoken or uttered to another soul. The sheer weight of information I harbour can literally change the course of events to come if it were to fall into the wrong hands. It is absolutely important that you keep it secret and understand the gravity it holds if you did tell another." Merlin stared at the pirate, his face becoming steely. He knew it was difficult to convince her of consequences his knowledge held when she didn't even know what it was about in the first place, but Merlin tried to persuade her regardless.

Milah leaned back to free her chest more from being pushed up against the spine of the chair. She was unsure about wanting to hear what the wizard was going to tell her. One side of Milah said that this was probably something horribly dangerous and she should back out now and forget it ever happened. On the other hand this only enticed the woman's ravenous curiosity, willing her to unravel the mystery laid before her like any accomplished pirate would. It was the thrill of the hunt and reward she desired more.

"Shall we meet back at my ship then?" She asked in a hushed tone making sure the patrons nearby wouldn't hear her.

Scathach gave Merlin a pained look. The pirate would surely have at least some of her crew about on the ship and that was a huge disadvantage for them both. Even if Merlin was a powerful spell caster, all it would take is a strong punch to the back of his head and the wizard would be knocked out. And while she considered herself a very skilled fighter, it would only take a group of people to rush her at once and the redhead would go down, eventually.

Merlin coughed to get the warrior's attention as she appeared to be thinking. Scathach flicked her head at the wizard and eyed him silently, neither indicating a yes or no to the suggestion.

"I think that is the best place to continue our conversation." He answered while looking at his friend. "The ship is probably the safest place." Merlin gave Scathach a quick wink, but knew as soon as he did it she wouldn't remember anything that had transpired on the vessel. Perhaps it was for the best though, as it had been a rough time for her.

The warrior narrowed her eyes at him. This is what really irked her the most. Even if she knew Mimir, there was still all this added time she had missed, all that time he built a new personality and an understanding of things. He was so similar to being himself, being Mimir, and yet here was this old man who was known as Merlin. It would send her up the wall when he wasn't what she remembered distinctly.

"Fine, if you think it's our best choice then I will follow you." The warrior answered. She confidently poured herself another drink and downed it before getting up and adjusting the dark leather belt that seemed to have travelled somewhat to her left. This was the worse armour she had ever bought and cursed herself for not making it like she did her sword.

Milah watched Sascha as she unstrapped the belt and tightened it again. This was clearly someone else, she internally noted. This person looked like Sascha and sounded like her but the personality was dissimilar to the woman she had come to know previously.

"Oh you have definitely changed Sascha. The question is _who_ have you changed into?" The captain eyed the redhead for a moment before getting up.

Scathach grimaced with the comment, as she didn't think she was any different, but understood why the pirate had said it. Bloody Mimir had to make her life just that little more troublesome didn't he, she remarked to herself.

Merlin sighed and slowly rose out of his seat. This wasn't what he'd planned or foresaw, but if events had changed already it would be in his best interests to eliminate any further circumstances from possibly arising. Although having the Pirate Queen on their side may be a considerable advantage to Emma's future expedition to the west, when the time came of course.

* * *

Master Drui Cian called out to let Emma know she could enter his private shelter, as she was made to wait outside until notified otherwise. The student was requested to see him about an incident that occurred a few days ago. Apparently one of the girls woke up in the middle of the night and found Emma was not in her bed. When Cian had been told of this information it was important for the Drui to deal with incident quickly.

The blonde anxiously edged her way into the roundhouse with a sorrowful look. Even if he couldn't see it, Emma couldn't help contorting her features as she knew that this was serious and that he must have found about her going to the Bear Shrine.

"Yes Mater Drui Cian." The blonde replied in an uneasy tone while her forehead creased slightly more.

"Ah, Emma, please sit down in the other seat." Cian asked as he turned his head to allow his right ear to hear her better.

Emma eased herself down into the rather uncomfortable wooden chair while biting down on her lower lip, waiting quietly for him to start with the line of questions to why she broke a number of rules.

"Where were you a few nights ago Emma? Did you happen to leave the barrier?" His voice was smooth and kind, no hint of anger or disappointment lined in them. Cian wasn't the sort of person to yell at another even if he was worried, and he was definitely worried. Since Emma wasn't completely human, as her aura displayed, the student had to be kept close in case her transformation turned out badly. At least if the student was in the camp they could help her.

The blonde fidgeted in the seat as she placed one leg over the other while picking at her nail, trying to ease the tense feeling rising inside the pit of her stomach. Emma thought for a moment that she may throw up, but didn't thankfully.

"I-I, it was, you see…." The blonde stammered trying to think of how to tell him what had transpired that night, but too many things flooded her mind at once. If Emma included Belenos he would be in trouble too, and if she said that she was at the Bear Shrine then she would also be in trouble. Emma quickly noted to herself that she was already in trouble anyway and opted to lie even if it made her feel dirty.

"I was outside looking at the stars in the training field. I couldn't sleep and decided I needed some fresh air." She finally said, hoping it was adequate enough for the Drui to accept.

Cian hummed and nodded his head slowly. "And how do you explain two sets of tracks leaving the barrier leading towards the Bear Shrine, as no one has gone that way since last week?" He asked in the same calm tone. A hint of smirk at the edge of his mouth.

Emma jolted at hearing the question. It was something neither her nor Belenos had thought of and she guessed it was time to fess up, time to come clean.

The blonde sighed as she closed her eyes. "Belenos and I went to the Bear Shrine and met one of the Grove's guardians. It was my idea, so please don't punish him for it." Emma opened her eyes and looked at the Drui. "I wanted to go outside the barrier, I wanted to know what it felt like to be… free." She let the last word come out faintly, half afraid to openly admit to herself the truth it held, and half not wanting to let the Drui know how she really felt.

It pained the old Drui to hear what she truly thought of her living arrangements. It had been quite some time since the first day of her arrival and Emma hadn't voiced once to anyone how she was coping with the change, and if she had he wasn't made aware of it.

Master Cian turned his head square on to face Emma, as if he could see her. "Could you do something for me?" He asked in a serious tone.

The blonde nodded and then realised he couldn't see her actions. "Of course, Master Drui Cian." she quickly replied, still nodding. The sickly feeling in her stomach came back with force. She held back the panic though and was thankful the master was blind.

"Would you mind getting up and stand in the middle of my shelter?" His tone eased back again. He hadn't seen the student's aura since the first time she came to the Grove and wondered if it had developed more over the time she had stayed.

Emma's bottom lip pushed up as she shrugged with the request, getting up and stood in the centre of the roundhouse. She fiddled with her hands unsure if she fold her arms or let them hang about. It's not like he could see her, so why was she all of a sudden self-conscious?

Master Cian seemed to be aware of where the student was in the room as he smoothly turned his head towards her. Emma's eyes widened marginally with the movement and wondered if he was using magic to detect where she was. But berated herself with an obvious yes of course, he's a master for Odin's sake.

He pulled away the strip of cloth over his eyes and squinted while studying her. The student's inner self was very different to what he'd seen the first time she was in the healer's shelter. No longer having tendrils of gold and silver spiralling around her body as before, this time she shone like a sun with a haze of soft blue. It was so bright that he kept his eyes narrowed to see her better. While his gazed adjusted to the light he could just make out something behind her.

Emma tried to look anywhere other than his face, the Drui's white eyes kind of freaked her out when she caught them staring at her. As the master leaned forward, still peering at her, Emma could feel the muscles on her shoulder blades start to twitch. The blonde wanted to fling her arm over her shoulder and attack the spot, but fought against the desire, unsure if the Master Cian wanted her to remain still. This was pretty unusual situation she noted but dared not voice it.

Cian's eye lids were almost completely closed as he tried to make out what was behind Emma's back. His breathing became shallow with the intensity of her aura increasing its brightness, as if it knew it was being watched. But He persisted and was rewarded with glimpses of the objects moving slowly up and down. Finally as if the images clicked into place he saw they were a pair of brilliant white wings folded at the wrists. The ethereal appendages moved further behind Emma's back, as if trying to hide from his prying eyes.

"Myrddin, who have you sent here, who are you Emma?" The Drui asked himself in a hushed voice. What had the wizard done to acquire a child of her calibre? He was rather confused, but at least he knew she wasn't a threat any longer. Emma displayed no dark magical properties, but that didn't mean she wasn't capable of doing bad things, it just meant she wasn't an immediate threat any longer.

"Master Cian may I sit down now?" Emma asked as she guessed this was probably some part of a lead up to her punishment and vowed that she wouldn't leave the camp's barrier again. Emma sort of didn't want to, not after seeing the picture in the cave the wild woman showed her and Belenos. Aureate's depraved cursing was enough for her or anyone else to stay away from.

Cian rubbed his face and then cupped both hands over his eyes. The bright image of light and wings danced across the inner of his lids while he thought over what he would do next.

"Emma you're free to leave the barrier, but you must have another accompany you though." He said as he searched for the cloth strip to place back over his eyes. His left hand was placed across his eyes while the other patted about, feeling out the items on his desk. The Drui couldn't simply close his eyes, as he would still be able to see some of the bright light Emma emitted, this was why he wore the blindfold in the first place. Having permanent second-sight was a blessing and curse, he couldn't switch it off, but it meant he could see people's true self.

Emma quickly moved to pick up the blindfold for him and place it under his wandering hand. She couldn't help the large grin from crawling across her face with the amazing news. She was allowed to go about freely now, well with someone else, and Belenos wouldn't say no to her.

"Th-thank you Master Drui Cian!" she exclaimed with joy, almost forgetting that she was supposed to be in trouble. The blonde coughed, clearing her throat and apologised about breaking his rule with the barrier and the others as well.

"As long as you don't do it again there will be no problems between us." He replied wrapping the cloth over his eyes and tying it at the back of his head. "But I can't simply let you get away without giving you a job to perform as punishment for the transgressions. In fact both you and Belenos will serve a number of months delivering the offerings to the Bear Shrine." Cian stated.

Emma's face sunk with the news. She felt so uplifted a moment ago and now the teen was being tortured with her new found freedom. And it was all Belenos' fault. This meant she'd have to go back and see Aureate again.

The Drui felt around again for something else on his desk, but when he couldn't find what he was feeling around for he reached out to the small bookshelf to his right. Once Cian knew he had the right tome, feeling the spin a few times first, he pulled it free and held it up.

"Oh by the way, can you give this book to Belenos. I think he may enjoy it like the last one he took." The Drui held out the book for Emma to take. It was unfortunate that he was blind as the look the blonde was giving him would have surely caused a chuckle to escape the old man's throat. Instead he smiled knowing that the young male student had been entering his living quarters and taking a single book at a time.

"Sure" Emma said in an uneasy tone, completely shocked that he knew what her friend had been doing. She gingerly took the worn out looking book and quietly left the Drui to his own thoughts, leaving the roundhouse and heading towards the eating hall to search for her friend.

xxx

"This is still fantastic news Emma, and you should be thanking me. Oh, will you stop looking at me like that, please?" Belenos tried to convince his friend that the punishment was the best thing that could have come about. It meant that she would have to face what had happened that night and stop running from it.

"No it's not, and I swear you're a thorn in my side sometimes Belenos." Emma said bluntly. She wasn't in the mood for his optimistic attitude or his incessant questions about the image of a winged woman in a cave that was supposedly her.

He crossed his arms and gave her a look of disapproval with the comment about him being a thorn. "You have to admit that painting looked a lot like you Emma, aren't you even the slightest bit curious about its origins?"

She shot him an angry look and continued to make her bed, but stopped when her hand bumped against the book of Runes. For some reason she needed to take it with her, it was as if it called out for her to pick it up from its hiding place under the pillow.

"Hey you're not supposed to be in here!" Aeslin said stridently at Belenos. The female student had wandered in looking for another person, but was met with the odd couple instead.

Emma grabbed her book and then her friend's hand, pulling him towards the front door. The blonde avoided the brunette's judgemental gaze. But Belenos wasn't going to be intimidated by someone like her.

"Don't worry Aeslin. I'm more woman than you'll ever be." He stated in a matter-of-factly tone while clicking his fingers at her and willingly letting Emma drag him out of the female's living quarters.

Once they were both far enough away from the camp site Emma punched her friend in the arm. "You just can't help yourself Belenos, you have to pull on other people's strings until they snap." She spat.

The young man rubbed his arm and saddened with the outburst. "Emma, I just couldn't let her continue to boss us or others around. She's a student too." He rebutted. "And don't take your anger out on me, I'm not a dummy for you to bash on." He added.

Emma pulled herself up, stopping and eyeing him briefly. She let a pained look spread across her face with the realisation she was becoming more of a bully than a friend towards him. "I'm sorry Belenos. I shouldn't, I mean I won't hit you again."

Belenos sighed and wrapped his arms around his small blonde friend. Emma slid her arms around his lower waist, due to his height, and hugged him back.

"Okay, enough of all this negative talking and such, let's get back to more pressing matters." He let go of Emma and pulled the book from his satchel. It was the one Emma had passed onto him yesterday from Master Cian. He laughed when he found out the Drui knew what he was doing, and then almost cried from relief that he wasn't given a harsh punishment for it.

"He was absolutely right about me being interested in this particular tome. I didn't get much time to decipher what it was about, but the language is pretty old and so translating it will take me some time." He was talking more to himself in the end when he saw Emma peering at her own book. It was one he hadn't seen before and didn't even know she had brought it along in the first place.

"Oh what do you have there?" he asked while leaning forward eyeing the dark leather bound treasure.

Emma flung her head up and widened her eyes. "Oh, it's nothing, just an old book my grandfather gave me." She lowered it and hid it behind her back. It was the wrong thing for her to do as it enticed the young man to reach around with his long arm to snatch at the book.

"Hey!" Emma protested as Belenos grabbed the book and quickly flipped it open before it could be taken away from him. But as he eyed a few pages he turned and gave his friend a quizzical glare.

"There's nothing in here, it's completely blank." He frowned at her before handing it back.

Emma shot him a disbelieving look while she took it from his hand. "Yeah sure Belenos, good one, you almost had me fooled." The blonde opened it and saw the familiar symbols and inscriptions describing what each meant on the many pages. She mockingly chuckled at his attempt to trick her.

Belenos didn't move though, he was unsure if Emma was suffering from some sort of fever or mental infliction where she thought she could see things on the blank pages of an empty book. But quickly thought that is may have been enchanted by Merlin, only allowing Emma to see what was written within it.

He placed his book back into the satchel and stepped closer to Emma to see her eye the book. "What does it say Emma, what is the tome about?" he asked.

Emma glanced at him, she expected Belenos to be able to read Runes, but guessed it was on his list of the many languages to learn and hadn't gotten to it yet.

"It's about the language of Runes and what they mean." She answered him while eyeing a page.

"Okay Emma, I'm just going to tell you right now, I honestly can't see a thing in that book. But it may be because Merlin placed an enchantment on it that you were the only one able to see it." He looked at her and shrugged. It seemed like a pretty solid theory to him and he knew the language already so it wasn't like he couldn't read it if it was visible.

Emma closed her eyes and lifted her brows up, lines appearing on her forehead as she tried to process what he just said to her. "Pardon?" was the only thing the blonde managed to say.

"It makes sense, if I were a really powerful wizard I'd make all my books inscriptions invisible so no one could steal the knowledge they held." He admitted. "I know the Runes already, but because I can't see the writing do you mind if you could scratch a few of them into the dirt for me to see?" He clasped his hands together as he grew slightly anxious with excitement over a secret book.

Emma let her mouth gap open slightly and nodded with the strange request. She was trying to work through the fact that Merlin had enchanted the book he gave her. "Sure, here let's go over there and I'll start drawing out a few."

The duo wandered off to a cluster of trees that had a reasonable sized patch of grassless dirt and bent down to study the symbols Emma was about to draw out.

The blonde picked up a stick and drew the first symbol. When she was done she looked at her friend to see if he knew it.

Belenos narrowed his eyes. "Could you draw a few more please?" He didn't look at Emma with the request but remained focused on the next two symbols she drew out in the dirt, alongside the first one.

He rolled back on the balls of his feet and sat down on the ground, not caring if he was going to get dirty. Emma thinned her lips with his lack of usual humour and the increased state of seriousness he seemed to have come across. Perhaps this is what he looked like when he was working out inscriptions, but Emma let that thought go as she knew this wasn't the case, this was something else.

"Is there something wrong, I'm sure I drew them out exactly like they are inscribed?" Emma closed the book and searched her friend's eyes, hoping they would let her glimmer into what he was thinking.

Belenos saw she was becoming worried and decided to tell her what he thought before she forced it out of him. "I don't know how to tell you this Emma, but those aren't Runes, at least not the one's I know." He looked back at the three neatly drawn inscriptions in the soil. They were nothing he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a lot of different variations of scripts. Perhaps it was some sort of older form of the language itself, or an altered version. Whatever it was they weren't the same symbols he had come to know.

Emma's back muscles twitched again and instead of doing the logical thing by reaching around with her hand and scratching them, she quickly stood and swept a foot back and forth over the symbols erasing them from ever being written, as if they had been the cause of her sudden discomfort.

"Okay I've reached my limit for strange things happening this month." She said while picking up her book and started to walk away without waiting for Belenos to follow.

He sprung to his feet and trailed after the blonde as an array of questions bounced around his mind. "Emma stop, hey I said stop." He reached out a clasped the blonde's elbow and pulled her back to face him.

"You have got to stop running away from things that you don't understand Emma." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Emma's jaw flexed with the accusation she was _running away_. This was not the case. To her she was choosing not to get involved, as this whole thing about her being a saviour was insane. Heroes don't get tossed aside as an infant. They were warriors or princes, not a scrawny blonde haired girl from up north. This was how Emma saw it and she wasn't going to let anyone convince her otherwise.

She tugged away from Belenos and stomped off again, but he wasn't going to give up, not when he was in the right. "Emma you're a coward!" he said angrily. But as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it.

The blonde froze and slowly turned her head to face him. "What did you just say to me?" she asked in a low tone, as if she was a panther ready to pounce on her prey.

Belenos gulped and took a small step back. "Emma, I didn't mean it that way, I just…" He swallowed again. "I just need you to understand that you can be so much more than you see yourself, that you could be a _hero_. And you won't know until you try." He trembled as his heart beat hard against his chest. It was taking everything he had to confess to her his thoughts. Belenos wanted Emma to stop putting herself down, and to start believing in herself instead.

Emma darted her eyes away from him and pulled her lips in while taking on what he said. She slowly brought her eyes to his and shook her head. "I'm just Emma, Belenos, and that's all I'll ever be." She turned and left without looking back again, regardless of what he might say.

xxx

"I so want to leave this place." Emma whispered to Belenos as they placed the large bowls of various fruits down near the cave entrance.

A large brown bear lumbered towards them causing Emma to cling to her friend's arm in fear. Belenos would have done the same but he remained stiff while watching the furry creature.

"Like right now!" She whispered hastily and slightly bit louder than she intended to.

"I can't move my feet." He said while turning his head, eyes wide, bottom lip quivering.

They both held each other as another massive bear appeared from the thick of the forest and wandered towards them. It was only made worse by the last bear coming into sight, as it ventured from the cave.

Emma squeezed Belenos' with so much force that he yelped in pain and tried to get her to ease back. "Emma you're hurting me. They won't eat us, they are the guardians, and they are supposed to protect us." He was saying this more to himself than Emma, trying desperately to rationalise the situation.

The three different sized brown bears approached the duo, but stopped in their tracks as an echoing cry came from out of the forest. Emma and Belenos let go of each other slightly as the turned to see what had made the ungodly noise. Something was moving with speed towards the bears. As the figure came into sight, the two could see it was Aureate.

The wild woman didn't acknowledge either Emma or Belenos as she growled and groaned at the three bears, her arms flexing as she seemed to be talking to them heatedly about something.

Belenos fully let go of the blonde and took a few small steps forward as he was trying to read the woman's body language. Aureate seemed quite stressed and the longer it took for her to get the trio of bears to listen the more her grunts and growls became more urgent.

"Emma I think we should go, I think there's something about to happen and we need to leave." He edged away and grabbed his friend's arm to pull her back towards the camp.

"This is what I told you before." Emma quipped.

The bears roared and bolted after Aureate as she ran towards a path in the forest, beyond the cave. Emma held her friend still for a moment, as her heart told her that she needed to stay.

"Emma, we need to go." He remarked and tried to move her, but she didn't budge.

"I know Belenos." She stared at him. "I know I should go, but I can't, for some reason I need to follow them." She thinned her lips and creased her forehead with the feeling building in her. "I can't fight it, I have to see." She darted away and ran after the group, trailing the path they were on.

Belenos clenched his fists and stomped a foot. He couldn't believe that yesterday he called her a coward and now she was heading towards Odin knows what and here he was, wanting to flee. The young man took a deep breath and ran after his friend.

xxx

Aureate bounded along the forest, half in front of the bears and half trying not to leave them behind. The bears rushed head on towards the target, grunts and growls rumbling from their thick throats.

Emma had caught up tailing them at a distance, with Belenos only a few steps behind her. He was able to catch up quite easily due to his size. The young man wheezed as he came to run beside the blonde.

"I can't keep this up much longer, I wasn't made to run." He sputtered and gasped.

Emma broke into a smile, which he caught and smiled back at her. Even if it was a brief moment, it made him feel like they didn't have a slight wall between each other. Yesterday was something he wished they didn't go through. But all good relationships go through trouble, it was natural.

As they continued to follow the bears and Aureate, Belenos apologised about calling Emma a coward and pointed out that she must be a hero, or she wouldn't be compelled to do this. His friend continued to smile as she ran.

"I'm sorry too." She gasped. "And you were right, I need to stop running away, I need to face my challenges." She refocused with the statement and increased her speed, pulling away from her friend.

Belenos moaned and took wider strides to catch up again. He felt like he would die from exhaustion before even getting to where they were all headed.

The bears slid to an abrupt stop, clawing large marks into the earth. They groaned and roared, while smelling the air.

Aureate flung her head towards Belenos and Emma. "What the fuck?!" She spat while springing towards them. "Are you fucking crazy, you can't be here Swan, you could get hurt. I haven't trained you yet!" The wild woman looked at them in disbelief.

Emma had enough, she had hit her limit. "I want you stop cursing!" She commanded in a breathy voice, trying to catch her some much needed air. It surprised her that the wild woman was completely fine.

Belenos' eyes bulged with her outburst. He jerked his head back and placed a hand on her arm. "Emma, I don't think you should-" but before he could wheeze out anything more Emma interrupted him.

"No!" Emma pulled away from her friend and strode towards Aureate. "If you think I'm some sort of _saviour_ then you need to stop cursing in front of me, I don't like it and it's not needed." She stated firmly, folding her arms as her chest rose and fell. Emma was fearful of the woman, but kept reminding herself that Belenos said Emma was greater than she thought. A strange feeling inside started to encompass her, tugging away as if it needed to be released. She just put it down to a different type of anxiety, they were chasing after some unknown thing, which would make anyone feel an arranged of emotions.

The wild woman eyed her for moment and nodded. She burst back to life and leaped up into a tree, scurrying to the top and peered out. Aureate cried out as something swooped at her from the sky.

The biggest of the three bears reared up, standing on its hind legs and bellowed while the other two seemed to circle around Emma and Belenos.

"What are they doing?" Emma remarked.

"I think there making sure where not going to get hurt" He looked up to see the creature dive towards the trees canopy where the wild woman was. "What in the Hel is that?" He asked, pointing up at the winged humanoid.

Emma flicked her head towards the tree top and watched as the creature screeched out trying to claw at Aureate's face with its taloned feet. She gasped at how it was the same creature from her dream, the one she had about the brunette.

Another winged humanoid appeared from the sky and dove towards the standing bear, screeching. Once it was closer to the bear it swept its legs forward, claws pointed at the furry creature's face.

Emma used her air magic and threw a ball of turbulent wind towards a third creature to her left.

"How many of these things are there?" Belenos cried as he used the same elemental magic as his friend. But not doing as well as Emma was.

But Emma didn't answer as she franticly swung her arms, propelling more spheres at the flying beasts. She didn't catch the one that had snuck up from behind. It dived at her, razor sharp talons ready to tear at her flesh.

"Emma!" Belenos yelled, but it was too late he knew she wouldn't have time to move.

The second largest bear reared up and slammed a meaty paw hard against the creature, throwing it to the ground. It screamed in pain as it hit the unforgiving surface, flapping its wings desperately trying to flip its feathered body back upright.

"Belenos, use fire, they are weak against fire!" She cried back at him, as the memory of her dream reminded her of how Regina destroyed one before.

He gave her a quick nod and swiftly lifted up his arms, waiting until one was almost upon him before letting go. A blaze of inferno shot from his hands and engulfed the winged humanoid, devouring its body unmercifully. He was sure the cries it made as it fell to the ground, blacked and bloody would haunt his dreams for weeks to come.

The smallest bear waddled quickly next to Belenos, licking his hand as he brought them back down to his side. He flinched with the action and wiped his hand against the back of his trousers. "What are you doing?" He retorted at the furry beast.

The largest bear growled as it lunged at the winged creature, clubbing it in the head. It too fell back to the ground, but didn't have a chance to scream like the it had before as the bear brought its whole weight forward, forcing its front paws to crush its head. The noise made Emma's stomach churn while she quickly looked away. But she couldn't avoid the bear next to her doing the same thing to the creature it had also caught.

Emma moved towards Belenos trying to avoid seeing any more skulls being squashed. He didn't seem to sense her presence as he was pushing the small bear away. "No, leave me alone, I don't want your slobber all over my hands." He protested.

Aureate came tumbling down off the back off the winged humanoid that attacked her earlier and into the brush next to a fallen tree. The creature had gone face first into a fall log and the sudden collision cause the wild woman to come flying off its back.

Aureate sprung to her feet and pounced at the creature while it was still dazed. She placed her hands flat against its shoulder to flip her body over its head and twisting herself around to land against its back feet first. The creature wailed from the impact of the woman's toughened feet, but its cries were lost to gasps as Aureate quickly looped her right arm around the creature's throat and started to choke the life from it. The wild woman used her left arm as extra power, pushing her right arm harder than she could normally against the creature's feathered throat, squeezing the last few pockets of air from its lungs.

The bears moved around and watched the sky, but it seemed the winged humanoids were finished, no more to be found. They all brought their attention back on the wild woman and wandered towards her. Aureate shook the creature's lifeless body a few times, to make sure it was dead and then let it go. She turned and smiled at Emma.

"You did very well against those fu-…" She stopped herself from finishing the sentence and looked at the bears instead. The wild woman grinned and bounded after them, embracing the smallest bear first.

"What? How about the fact I set one of those things alight, huh?" Belenos exclaimed with his arms out to the side.

Emma gave him a small smile. "Yes Belenos you were great." She then grinned at him and moved to stand beside her friend. "But it was my idea." She quipped, grinning more so than before. He gave her a fake offended look, placing a hand upon his chest.

"But it was I who provide the fire, which we both know you wouldn't be able to do." He proclaimed and grinned back at her. Emma didn't argue with the comment, he was right. She was hopeless with fire magic and that was ok. As Merlin told her once before, some people were better at one element than another.

"Okay everyone lets head back before it gets dark." Aureate commanded in a gruff voice.

The wild woman growled at the bears and they started to lumber quietly in the direction of the cave. Aureate watched them for a moment before sliding up beside Emma.

"Swan, I am sorry about my words you do not like, I will try not to say them." She said in a low voice.

Emma and Belenos blinked at her a few times before looking at each other.

"Um, Aureate that's fine." Emma eyed the wild woman before speaking again. "But more importantly, what were those things?" It was both something her and Belenos questioned as they had never seen anything like it before, well Emma had, but that was in a dream.

"Harpies" The wild woman said. She looked at them both oddly as if it should have been obvious. "Oh no, you both know nothing about the creatures from west side?" she asked while frowning at them. Her taut body flexed in waiting to hear their answer.

"I know what a harpy is, but I haven't seen one in the flesh. Well until today that is." Belenos said. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at Emma.

The blonde shrugged and darted her eyes to and fro. "Well the thing is I may have seen one before, but not in real life. It was in a dream." She let her words fade away not waiting to share the information.

"Dream?" Aureate asked as if the word was foreign to her. She stood more up right and peered at Emma as if she was searching for the answer on her face.

"Yeah, like when you sleep and you see things or do stuff like you would when you're awake, but you're not." The blonde wasn't entirely sure how to explain it.

"A dream is a state in which your body is asleep and your mind is still awake. Your mind then creates scenarios that seem real, but they are not, which is called a _dream_." Belenos added trying to help. But the look Aureate gave him told the young man that he'd confused her more than what she was before.

Emma rolled her eyes, this wasn't exactly important. "So if these harpies are from the west, why the Hel are they here then?"

The wild woman eased her face back from frowning at Belenos and looked up at the sky. "I'm not sure, but the falcon will know." And with that Aureate turned away from the duo and walked off.

Belenos pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "She's a very strange woman." He said as he watched Aureate head back towards the cave, her body swaying. "I like her. I don't know why, or if I should, but I do." He said placing his hands on his hips.

Emma looked around at the bodies of the deceased harpies. "Shouldn't we bury them or something?" she said waving a hand about in a questioning manner. It seemed bizarre to just leave them out in the open.

Belenos didn't look at them though. He didn't even want to see the dead and bloody bodies. The screeching of the fiery beast echoed in his mind making him cringe. "Nah, don't worry about it Emma, nature will take care of it." He crooked his arm out waiting for her to take hold of it so he could lead them back.

The blonde didn't want to, she didn't feel like she needed to be chaperoned back to the guardian's home.

xxx

As they journeyed on the path back to camp, they discussed about the different theories as to why harpies would even be close to this area. Suddenly Emma's back started to itch like crazy. She stopped and tried to bend her arm back to scratch the spot.

"Did you get bitten by something?" Belenos asked while looking at her as Emma tried to levitate the annoyance.

"I don't know, perhaps?" She replied finally deciding to bend her arm over her head and using the other arm to push down on her elbow to reach the irritation. "It feels like ants are crawling under my skin." She eyed him worryingly.

Belenos glanced about making sure no one else was around. They had walked leisurely almost back to the barrier, after Aureate got Emma to swear she would visit every afternoon when she was done with classes to train with her. He thought it was all very exciting, but Emma just wanted to go back to the camp and rest, it had been enough drama for one day.

"Here, lift up your tunic and shirt. I can take a look at it for you." He moved towards her, but she took a step back and eyed him cautiously. He gave her a disapproving glare at her lack of trust.

"Honestly Emma you're practically like a sister to me, you think I'm going to perve on you or something?" He didn't let her answer though. "you know perfectly well I'm not interested in women anyway."

Emma sighed and undid her belt, letting it fall to the ground. She eyed him for a moment, thinning her lips and then turned around to lift her garment up. Belenos helped her pull it up to the back of her neck.

"How long has this been going on for Emma?" He asked with a hint of curiosity.

She shrugged and adjusted her grip on the material. "I guess it's been about a month now, I suppose. It's only gotten worse since yesterday really."

Belenos slid his fingers along the strange marks that lined her back, it was clearly not natural and they hadn't been caused by the blonde's finger nails either.

"Is it really bad?" she asked anxiously. He's been looking at her bare skin for a while now and it made her feel uneasy being exposed, even if it was just Belenos who saw her.

He swiftly pulled down her tunic and smoothed it out by gliding his hands down her back. "Does that hurt when I do this?" he asked while making the same motion with his hands as he did before.

Emma shook her head. "It actually feels better when there's some pressure against it." She turned around and picked up her leather belt, clasping it back around her waist. "So does it look bad?" she asked again.

Belenos sucked his bottom lip in and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong. He couldn't compare them to anything he'd seen or read. "Have you shown the healer's at camp? Or at least told them about it?" His voice was getting higher and he knew Emma was going to lose her cool soon by him evading her question.

"Belenos please tell me if it looks bad, you're freaking me out here." She grabbed his collar, making him bend slightly forward to be at her eye level. Emma searched his eyes desperately to unravel the answer.

"Yes. They look terrible." He said in a hushed voice. He gently placed his hands on Emma's and brought them down away from his chest. "But, I don't think it's making you sick, because you'd be displaying symptoms by now."

"What do you mean by _they_? What the Hel is on my back Belenos?" Emma turned her head trying to look at her back, but gave up instantly when she realised that it wasn't possible. She knotted her fists and groaned. "Why does this shite have to happen to me?" she hissed.

The blonde paced back and forth becoming increasingly panicked with the idea that her back looked hideous, her imagination running rampant. "How bad are we talking about, on a scale of one to ten what would you say it looked like?" her voice was strained as she gripped her friend's forearm.

Belenos contorted his face with her sudden uneasy demeanour. He patted her hand and tried to reassure her that he didn't mean it looked terrible the way she had obviously taken it. "I'm sure it's one of those things that look worse than what it really is." He tried to think on how to describe what the lines looked like, but when he realised what they reminded him off the student slapped a hand hard against his face.

Emma stared at him as he left his hand upon his face and shook his head. A small chuckle slipped from his throat and he took his hand away to look at her.

"For Odin's sake Emma, I'm an idiot, I swear." he smile at the comment. "I think I know what is on your back." Belenos turned and paced. "Here I was thinking it was some sort of lesions, caused by what I don't know. Which I guess they are in a way, I think you may know what they are in fact, if my theory -"

"For the love of the All Mother Belenos will you please get to the point?" Emma quickly interrupted her friend. "I mean I love to hear about what you think, but I'm actually freaking out here and you're not making it easier for me." She pleaded. Her forehead created a group of lines as she raised her brows causing her green eyes to widened.

"They're Runes, like the one from your special book." He blurted.

The blonde cocked her head to the side, half in shock and half contemplating what he said. She started to undo her belt again. "Show me, write them in the dirt." Emma ordered.

The blonde tossed the belt aside and turned around to pull the tunic and undershirt completely off and held the material against her chest for some privacy. She arched her head back to look at her friend. "Today would be good." She quipped at him, her face still anxious with the statement. She desperately just what to know what the Hel was written on her skin, as if it may answer all the questions she had thought of.

Belenos pushed down on Emma's shoulder to get the blonde to sit down while he found a stick to scratch against the scant amount of earth he had to work with. The young man meticulously dug out the soil being careful not to make a single mistake. Emma shuddered as a gentle breeze blew, she hadn't really thought of how taking her tunic and shirt off would affect her. But she gritted her teeth and tried to hold still.

"I'm almost done Emma." Belenos said as he saw her skin flare up in array of small bumps.

As soon as he knew how to draw out the last one, he told Emma to get her clothes back on and leaned over the now finished inscriptions. Not to hide it from her, but to make sure she didn't accidently step back into it.

Emma hastily dropped to her knees once dressed and eyed his work.

He watched in anticipation at what they could possible mean. His friend's body stiffened and she looked as if she had stopped breathing. The blonde's face became pale as she slowly leaned back to sit on her bent legs. Emma's face looked as if she had just found out somebody she knew was dead.

"Emma what does it say?" He asked urgently while coming closer to her.

She glanced at him and then the ground. "This has to be wrong, there's no way in Hel that this is correct." She whispered.

Belenos leaned in even closer to catch what she was saying, he was almost beside her when she finally looked him in the face.

"What the Hel is a _Valkyrie_?" the question came out unintentionally, but it was the only thing Emma could think to ask as she felt her mind race with the words that were inscribed on her back.

* * *

**zerodarkwolf - thanks for the ok to femslash this up, I wasn't sure if people just wanted it to be exclusively Swan Queen. But I gathered that no one else saying _no_ is a go ahead. Thank you for answering the question.**

**lost long ago - omg, where do I start to thank you for the praise? I have made up the whole thing actually. I used the names and some of the mythology to create extras that people can look up if they want to, but it's not necessary to understand the story itself. I reread your comment a few times, beaming with the fact you care about the extra characters, as I wasn't sure how others would take to it. Thank you for the review btw!**

**ShadowCub - yes it was all a dream, or was it? Hahaha. You'll get it later, I swear. Thank you for the review too.**

**And a continuous thank you to everyone who has kept reading this.**


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N - **_**a Crwth is a ancient lyre (so when you see the word later on you know what it means).  
**

_**I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.**_

* * *

The torch's light bounced across the cave's walls, casting a variety of shadows to dance about the small space. But the show of shapes was lost on the blonde as she studied the picture on the wall in front of her.

Emma sat cross-legged, book in one hand and another touching the painting of the winged figure. She turned her head and looked at Belenos, checking to make sure he was okay. Her friend had fallen asleep almost an hour ago and the three bears managed to pool themselves around the young man, probably for warmth she guessed.

The blonde let a small smile slid across her face from the sight and then turned her head to study her book, reading over the inscriptions she apparently could only see. The teen couldn't work out why the Runes in her book were different to the ones Belenos knew of. More importantly what did the inscription her back mean precisely?

Emma pulled out a small vial of ink, a piece of paper and quill from her own satchel and began to write out the symbols from memory. The quill flicked back and forth as she quickly drew them out, unaware of the wild woman slinking up behind her.

"What's that?" Aureate asked over the blonde's left shoulder.

Emma jerked with the sudden noise and turned her upper body to see the wild woman still bending over her, eyes narrowed as she inspected Emma's hand writing.

"Um, this?" The blonde held up the piece of parchment in question.

"Yes, what are those?" Aureate brushed her fingers against the inked lines, as if the symbols were solid objects.

Emma patted the dirt ground next to her, offering the golden eyed woman to sit down. Aureate plopped herself down unceremoniously beside Emma, adjusting her patchy fur top to sit better across her chest and leaned in to look at the paper.

"This is a list of words that are on my back, and I wish I could work out what they all meant. I mean I understand what they say but it's…" she scrunched her face up trying to explain what she meant clearly. "It's more like a check list honestly, just a list of things that are either a no or yes." Emma watched Aureate bob her head back and forth taking it all in.

"I can read them out to you if you like?" the blonde said eagerly wanting to share the information with someone else other than Belenos.

Aureate grinned with the question and nodded once to let the teen continue. Emma cleared her throat and read the words on the piece of paper.

"Valkyrie falla blota; lag rada, ja. Helfja af daudr, neinn. Frjals af daudr, neinn. Ungr endr, ja. Megin, ja. Efna vald vindr, ja. Fjodr vaengjar, ja." She finished and turned her head to see Aureate frowning at her.

The wild woman bent her legs and brought her knees closer to her chest, wrapping a pair of strong arms around the front. "I know words like that. Here let me tell you." She cleared her throat, copying Emma. "Beiskaldi, alicarl, meinfretr, bacraut, ker -"

Emma quickly dove forward and clasped a hand over the woman's mouth. "Aureate!" she hissed. "Where in the world did you learn words like that?!" the blonde queried, shocked to hear such words pour from the wild woman's mouth. How many different languages did Aureate know how to curse in, Emma wondered.

The golden eyed guardian gently placed her fingers over Emma's and pushed them away carefully, so not to hurt her new friend. "It's the first words I heard when I was born again."

Emma frowned at the sentence and she took a few moments to try and work out Aureate's broken use of dialect, and then it hit her. "By _words_ do you mean language? As in the tongue you first learnt to speak in?"

Aureate nodded at the question but didn't know why it mattered though. It was the Falcon that taught her how to speak like most others did, so she didn't need to speak both forms, she'd actually forgot most of the other words in that tongue anyhow.

"And what do you mean by _born again_?" Emma asked as she sat back and watched Aureate tilt her head from side to side in contemplation.

The wild woman pulled her mouth to one side and hummed before answering. "I wasn't human, I was bear." she bent her legs out while spreading them apart so as not to hit the blonde sitting in front of her, causing the long straps of fur she wore around her lower half to splay out. The wild woman's shoulders slumped as she turned her head away from Emma and thought back on her painful past.

The teen didn't interrupt Aureate as she looked like she was still going to say more.

"Long time ago my family went on journey to find better land, we came across some bad humans." The wild woman turned her upper body and pointed at the largest bear in the cave.

"Osbeorn and me tried to protect the other two, Torbern and Mathuin, as mother and father fought off the bad humans." She turned her head back to glance at Emma before continuing. "We all ran away to hide…" Aureate voice started to faultier, she took a deep breath and looked in the blonde's green eyes.

"They killed our parents and then they came after us. Osbeorn was small then and me too, we were useless." The wild woman rolled her head forward and stared at her hands before continuing. "I called to the All Mother to help us, but she did not come. The Bear Goddess, Artio heard me and tried to save us." A single tear ran down the wild woman's face.

Emma pained at seeing the woman upset and tried to hug Aureate, but the wild woman stopped her as she needed to finish what she was saying. "Artio wasn't allowed to use her powers and so she was caught. Zeus killed Artio for going against the laws and she gave me some of her powers in death."

Emma didn't know a god could do that, but there were a lot of things she didn't know when the teen paused to think about it. She gave Aureate a caring look as the wild woman kept telling the rest of her past.

"I turned into a human cub and was found by a bunch of hairy men. They spoke the words I said to you, oh and they taught me how to fight too." The woman's face started to shift to a happier state over the memory.

Emma guessed the Aureate's time with the men must have been something pleasant in her life, and this eased the heart ache the teen had felt before.

"I will teach you as well, Swan. I will make you strong like bear!" Aureate's face brightened more as she found the good things to think about.

Emma grinned at Aureate, but then her mind wandered back to how the wild woman was found. "Wait, do you know where you were found? Like, was it in a forest or something?" Emma hoped the wild woman's answer may shed some light on her own past.

Aureate shook her head. "No, I was up near mountain, the goddess made a mistake, but I'm happy to have my brothers again." She replied while grinning.

Emma smiled back at her. But quickly changed the subject as another thought popped into her head. "Hey Aureate, do you remember how you told me, when we first met, that Freyja brought me back to save the world?" Emma thinned her lips in hope that this question may be answered unlike the many others she seemed to fall short of lately.

The wild woman nodded. "Yes." She replied in a quiet voice.

"What do you mean by brought back? Where was I before?" The teen edged closer to Aureate, making sure she missed nothing the wild might have to say.

The guardian's gold eyes darted about as her brows drew together. She slid away from Emma and stood up. "I wasn't allowed to tell you that, I got excited and said the things I weren't allowed to say." Aureate rubbed the back of her neck and started to pace.

Emma shot up, feeling like if it was about her, then she had the right to know what the Hel was going on. "Aureate that's not fair. You can't say that to me, I need to know what you know." The blonde gave her a desperate look, both arms out in a pleading manner, as if Aureate was able to free her from a torment she had carried around for most of her life.

Aureate screwed up her face and dragged both of her hands down her cheeks. "Freyja said she would tell you, the Falcon told me this. I only know you are important, you are saviour, you are Swan." the guardian turned away from Emma and kicked at a rock, sending it flying across the room, it made a cracking sound as it hit against the cave wall. The wild woman suddenly pressed the palm of her right hand against her eye as if it something was hurting her.

Emma felt like she had gone a step forward and two steps back. She had more questions now than before and no clear sight of any answers on the horizon. The blonde sighed and asked one last question, but felt like it wouldn't produce anything either.

"Aureate, where can I find Freyja?" she asked exhaustedly.

The wild woman now had both hands pressing against her face, while a low almost inaudible growl rumbled from the bottom of the woman's throat.

"You need to go, now." Aureate said in an inhuman voice.

Emma didn't ask her question again, she was currently more concerned abrupt change in Aureate demeanour. "Why? What's wrong Aureate, are you in pain?"

The blonde took a few steps towards the wild woman but immediately halted her approach as Aureate growled viciously.

The three bears suddenly awoke and as they shifted about, getting up from laying down for a few hours, Belenos was awoken to a sea of fur moving around him.

"Emma?!" he cried out under the massive brown mounds.

The teen rolled her eyes. They weren't going to harm him. They had been visiting the shrine for a little over a week now and in that time Aureate reassured them her brothers would not hurt either student in any manner. Emma now understood why Aureate said they were siblings.

"Leave!" Aureate wailed as she took a few steps back, trying to distance herself from Emma. The three bears moved in around the wild woman and encircled her with their bodies.

Belenos wiped the sleep away from his eyes hastily and stumbled quickly towards his friend who was watching the strange display. He placed a hand on Emma's shoulder to stop himself from falling over, somehow one of his legs fell asleep and the rushing pain of nettles had now rendered him ineffective of walking properly, or standing for that manner. He groaned slightly from the pain.

Emma glanced at him and then his leg as he patted it. "Rub it Belenos, you have to get the blood moving again." She said remembering it was something that Granny told Red once. Emma's heart panged for a moment, missing them both dearly. She had hoped they were still out there, somewhere.

Aureate screamed as the bears blocked her from both Emma's and Belenos's watchful eyes.

"Emma, I don't like the sound of that." He remarked looking fearful. "What's wrong with her? What is going on?"

Emma edged closer to the protectively huddled bears to see what was happening to Aureate.

Belenos took a small step to stand next to the blonde better and protectively lifted his left arm slightly, just in case he had to pull her away.

Then, without warning, a giant motley golden furred bear shot up and pushed away the other bears. It swiftly dove away from the group and charged towards the mouth of the cave, roaring on the way out.

Belenos flung a hand to his chest, trying to calm a suddenly rapidly beating heart. "What just happened?" He asked in a surprised tone. The young man had only been awake for a few minutes and already chaos was rearing its ugly head.

"That was Aureate. I think she's a shape-shifter." Emma said as she remembered how Red could change into a wolf. It must be one of the powers the goddess had given her, the blonde noted.

Emma didn't ask Belenos to follow her, she didn't think at all as she ran off after the giant golden bear.

Belenos stood staring as his friend disappeared, leaving him behind with the other three bears which moved closer to watch Emma run away as well.

"So I guess it's just us guys, huh?" he said as he swung a hand out and accidently hit the middle sized bear in the shoulder. His face sunk with shock as the bear looked him dead in the eyes and growled. Belenos stepped back and collided with the largest bear, which growled too.

The little bear fumbled towards him and rubbed its head against the frightened man, starting to make a purring noise. The other two bears eyed one another and huffed. They silently wandered off further to the back of the cave and slumped down to go back to sleep.

Belenos peered down at the human sized bear and ran his hand over its thick skull, feeling its soft fur. He didn't push it away as he had a few times before; its curiosity was more welcomed at this moment.

"Um, thanks. I guess." He said as the bear stared up at him. He wasn't sure if it was the affection of the smaller bear that just saved him from being mauled, but he was glad that nothing bad had happened.

Belenos peered out into the darkness of night. It was a new moon and he wondered how the Hel Emma was going to see anything in front of her. He felt he should have chased after her, but he didn't want to be a burden.

The young man's fingers brushed back and forth over the bear's fur as he gazed out of the mouth of the cave, a the sinking feeling of knowing that Emma was probably going to have to leave the Grove at one point washed over him. He been so busy thinking of ways to help her that he'd thought it might make him a better person too, someone who was important as well.

He'd been reflecting a lot since he'd called Emma a coward and then how he'd tried to brush it off. Instead of giving advice out, he should be doing it to himself, applying the same ideas he'd thrown at his friend.

"I've been such a fool." He said allowed to no one but himself.

The brown bear nudged at Belenos, still making a deep purring sound. The young man looked back at the bear with a sad face. "Do you think I can fix this?"

The bear titled its head to the side, flicking its ears a few times. Belenos sighed as he realised he was talking to an animal.

* * *

The chariot burst through the clouds, feathering plumes of white streaks across the orange kissed sky as the sun slowly rose to start a new day. The half metallic, half wooden structure was coated in the red light of a rising sun, giving it an ominous appearance as it glided through the air.

Freyja pulled on the reins to steer the two dire-cats towards the glistening city high above the world that floated in a fog of white, appearing to be a singular cloud. The dire-cats snarled with the command and increased velocity, downward towards a large space of open area to land on.

Olympus was a place the goddess knew too well, for a many time had she been summoned by Zeus, who kept an ever watchful eye on the outcasts of war. He would call upon the highest ranking of their gods to talk with them, asking what they were doing and reminding them to do nothing and being nothing or be struck down for disobeying him.

Freyja was in her rights to still harbour a boiling malice towards the rapacious god when he seized her gift from Odin through battle. She also still held a certain amount of anger towards her missing husband, and her failed attempts to find him only added fuel to the fire. The golden haired goddess had asked the Norms many times to find Odin, but they continuously said his location was unknown.

The All Mother hardened her face as the chariot rolled to a stop not far from the entrance of the palace. Its wooden and metal frame looked odd against the white and gold marmoreal architecture surrounding her. She noted how even her mode of transport was so out of place, much like herself.

Two giant armoured soldiers fashioning a spear each meet with the goddess and started to escort her towards the usual meeting area. They quickly fell into their usual position, one solider to the front and behind the All Mother. She quickly glanced back at her chariot to see the dire-cats shrink back to a normal size and bound about, playing with one another.

xxx

The All Mother's bare feet padded along the cool clean floor, her simple white dress swayed at the hips as she seemed to glide down a long reaching hallway. The goddess glanced now again through the gaps between the pillars running along each side of her. Sometimes she saw a large entrance way travelling off to another part of the palace, and then sometimes she only saw heavily detailed walls. Although she despised Olympus, for it was a place that held her rival, it itself was not a harsh sight on one's eyes, odd yes, but not unsightly.

Freyja adjusted the clasp on the front of her blue cape and took a deep breath before treading into the circular room, knowing that Zeus would have camped himself on a large throne.

She peered up instinctively as she entered the room knowing where he would be sitting and eyed the god down her nose. She stood tall with her legs partially apart, showing she was not to be trifled with. Freyja slowly brought her head down to face the god head on now, less defiant than before. It was a silent display she had posed every time she'd met with him, as it was her mute way of saying he could go to Hel.

"So Freyja, it's been a while since our last meeting, has it not?" Zeus asked in a deep voice while lounging somewhat on his elaborate stone throne.

The goddess shifted her weight more to her right leg but didn't answer his question, as it was clearly rhetorical. He was pointing out that she had not turned up to the other two meetings he had previously arranged.

Zeus' face was expressionless as he glided his eyes up and down the goddess's outfit. He disliked how the blue eyed woman held herself in his presence. Freyja was a brash and mostly uncooperative woman. But perhaps she would be easier to tame if he slept with her, he noted. The goddess wasn't unattractive, but she could be more trouble than it was worth the effort. Although, he wondered, would Hera exact revenge on the goddess if he did copulate with her?

Freyja becoming impatient with the gods staring and decided to get this meeting over as soon as possible, she could feel Emma was getting closer to changing and needed to be there for the young mortal when that time arrived.

"I have done as you have asked of me. We go through this dance every time I visit. You ask me what I've been up to and I tell you that it's either searching for my husband or staying out of the affairs of my people." She said in a tense tone, waiting for the god's demeanour to change any moment.

He shifted in his seat and turned his head towards one of the foot soldiers standing close by. Zeus nodded at him and watched the soldier leave the room briefly before coming back again with a large scroll in hand. The soldier bowed while holding up the object for the god to take.

Zeus ignored the man's presence as he took hold of the scroll and stood. The soldier quickly walked back to return to his allocated spot. The god shuffled down the few steps and walked towards the goddess, his face still unreadable.

Freyja stood her ground though. She didn't want to appear weak in front of the arrogant ruler.

"Can you explain to me what this means?" He asked as his tone become harsher towards the goddess.

Freyja shifted her weight to the left of her leg now and jolted slightly as the god threw out the scroll, unravelling it before her. The wooden handle hit the goddess's foot, but she didn't move it from the impact though, instead her eyes darted to look at the bottom end the scroll first and then slowly climbed up the parchment to study a detailed picture of a group of people. After taking in the image for a few moments the goddess's eyes shifted to look at Zeus'.

"It's you, cowering before my husband and two other figures." She stated, not letting a liberating smirk escape her lips. She was confused on what it meant, but also entirely glad that it wasn't something horrible, like a depiction of her husband's dead body.

Zeus' face hardened with the comment, he threw the other end of the scroll down that was still in his hand, causing its wooden handle to snap in two from the strength of the action.

"You think this is some sort of joke?!" He boomed at the goddess. He strode towards Freyja, making her sway away from him. "Because I don't see the humour in it at all!" his voice echoed off the walls of the circular room.

Both soldiers chanced a glance at one another quickly. Zeus caught it and yelled at both of them to leave his sight at once. The soldiers took off promptly, marching out of the room.

Freyja thought they were originally there to make sure the god was safe, but her judgement changed as she realised they were there for her safety. The goddess's eyes widened ever so slightly with Zeus' large muscular body so close to her own. The god's curly bronze coloured hair bounced as he flung his head back to glare at the goddess. His same coloured curly beard swung as he yelled at the goddess again, asking what the picture meant.

Freyja took a small step back from his agitated demeanour. She glanced back at the parchment as something suddenly stood out to her that hadn't before. The goddess bent down and placed her hand beside the head Odin was holding up. As Freyja stared at the face of the decapitated man she was struck by the epiphany of who it was.

The All Mother's face paled as her mind poured over what it all meant. Was Mimir apart of something greater and not be aware of it… Or was he fully aware and led her to believe otherwise.

A feeling of betrayal filled her suddenly, but she fought it back. A goddess of her calibre didn't let such emotions dictate how she should react to a situation. If it was the latter, if Mimir had played her like a Crwth, then she would have a lot of very descriptive words to say to him the next time they met.

"I don't understand the content of what is displayed here, other than what I stated before, Zeus." Her tone was short with the god, this conversation was over and she had to leave immediately. She needed to speak to Merlin about this, she thought while she stood back up right to face Zeus.

The clearly irritated god wasn't quite down though. Zeus reached out grabbed Freyja's wrist pulling her body closer to his. She tried to resist his grip by raising her arm up tugging it back forcefully, but the god clenched his hand tighter with the action.

"You will tell me everything I want to know, or so help me Freyja, I'll make you talk." He growled out the last few words and then let go of the goddess's small wrist.

Freyja was relieved when he released his grip on her. The sore wrist throbbed as blood started to pump through the compressed flesh. She didn't touch or look at it though, not if it meant he thought he could hurt her. The goddess held her head high and narrowed her eye's at him.

"Strike me where I stand Zeus, but my answer will remain the same." Her voice was strong and unyielding so as not to let the god see underneath the mask that she was wearing, a mask that hide the fear she had for her own safety.

The air in the room crackled, making the hairs on the back of Freyja's neck stand. It was as if the room was becoming electrified around the two of them. She knew Zeus could use lightening as an attack, but would he really kill her, here in Olympus, what would it achieve? She took a step back, creating distance between her and the clearly disgruntled god.

The muscled ruler turned away from her and walked back to his white throne and sat down. He smoothed out his pristine purple trimmed chiton and adjusted his golden laurel wreath crown. The crackling air ceased as the god's face eased to a more relaxed state. "I'm a fair God, Freyja, you know this. I have given you're people a place on Vici to live and prosper."

The goddess fought to roll her eyes. She knew he was adding salt to the wound by renaming her planet, that had been a gift from her husband, to the title of _Conquered_ in his native tongue. She had named the small planet Fallegur, which meant beautiful, and it was in her eyes still a beautiful world. Odin discovered it on one of his travels through Jotunheim, the realm of the giants. And had almost not seen it as it was a newly formed planet close to Midgard. Although the planetoid itself was reasonably young, it was fully capable of holding new life.

"And I have also allowed most of your gods to live and be worshipped too." He noted.

"But you have disallowed them to answer our people's cries, we listen and you have taken away our rights to answer." She pointed out. It was all well and good to let her people ask for help, or give thanks, but to cut all ties to them was downright evil.

Zeus face hardened while he clenched his fist and spoke in a deep voice. "This is the punishment agreed upon the defeat you suffered. I could have had you all killed, and started the planet anew. But as I said before, I am a fair God and I let you're people live." His face eased slightly, but his fist did not.

Freyja thinned her lips while she thought of how to word what she wanted to say next. This arrogant god just made it harder for her to think clearly, her deep dislike towards him clouded the simplest of decisions. She reminded herself that she was in control of her own emotional statues, much unlike Zeus' wife. Hera scared the goddess more than Zeus, as she was known to go to great lengths to exact revenge on others, especially other females.

"My _Fates_ produced this picture a day ago. They have the power to see everyone's life line, and this is what they saw for mine when I asked them what my future held." Zeus finally unclenched his fist and pointed at the scroll still sprawled out on the marble ground.

The goddess eyed the image for a moment, concerned about why her husband and Mimir were in the picture to begin with, but didn't let her face show this in the god's presence.

"Tell me what you see, _goddess_?" He said her name in a condescending tone, as if she wasn't worthy of such a title.

Freyja narrowed her eyes as she studied the figures, weighing up what parts she would tell him about openly and the others she wouldn't give freely, not even if he threatened to kill her.

"As I said before, you are cowering under my husband and two other figures beside him. I don't know who they are, if that's what you're implying?" She looked at his face, noticing his brows slowly coming together.

"Who's the headless one, the one who Odin holds?" He asked.

The goddess made her face blank, making sure not to give a single thing away. "I don't know, perhaps it's a sacrifice? I have no idea who it could be though." She almost turned her head at hearing the footsteps echoing down the long hallway from behind, but she remained fixed on Zeus instead.

Zeus swayed his upper body to see who it was and ignored Freyja.

A nervous looking man, almost jogging, hastily approached the god to whisper something in his ear. Zeus' eyes darted to look at Freyja and then back to the floor of the room. After the exchange the massager bowed and ran off back down the hallway. The goddess shifted her weight again as she waited quietly for the god to speak.

"It appears I have more important things to attend to." Zeus stated and stood up to walk towards the goddess. "I believe what you have told me, but if I find out you have lied to me I will send you to the world you call Hel." He added as he passed by her and turned a sharp left to head down a different part of the palace.

Freyja watched the bulking ruler disappear from the room. This had been the first time the goddess was left alone in the meeting room. She turned around to leave on her own accord, but did not notice the figure watching her from behind a pillar to her right.

The woman in an antique pink gown quickly took hold of the goddess's arm and pulled her into the shadow of the pillar. Freyja gasped with the sudden jolt and was about to drive a closed fist on the perpetrator's body but halted the action as she recognised who it was.

"Eos, what the Hel are you doing here?" She questioned the auburn haired goddess in a harsh tone. Didn't she know if they were caught talking to one another they would both be punished?

"Frigg please I need you to give a message to someone." She asked in a desperate tone, still clinging to the woman's arm tightly. Her eyes pleaded for the other goddess to hear her out, to take a moment to listen to what she had to say.

"Eos you have to leave. I can't be seen talking to you." Freyja turned her whole body away from Eos and was about to walk away but she was tugged back by the goddess, still holding her arm.

"Please! Frigg you have to, it's for the one I love!" The goddess begged intensely.

The All Mother paused and glanced at the goddess. Freyja was the goddess of love and Eos knew this well. How could she turn away this woman when it was a pure request? Freyja returned to the shadow of the pillar and stared at her.

"Who is the message for?" She asked in a hushed tone and then briefly looked around.

Eos did the same, peering around the room, hoping the hiding spot she chose would conceal them long enough. "I need to let Panlong know I still love her and I forgive her for what she did." The goddess's blue eyes started to glaze over as she held back the tears threatening to escape. She gingerly let go of the All Mother's arm as she noticed she had still been clinging to it.

Freyja's brows scrunched together with confusion. "What do you mean you forgive her for what she did? What did the Dragon do?" Freyja felt her chest tighten, what was going on that she was not aware of?

Eos blinked at her a few times and then cupped the All Mother's hands in a caring manner. "Didn't Mimir tell you? Don't you know-" she suddenly paused and flicked her head left to right making sure no one was around and leaned in a little more before continuing. "Don't you know about the tablet?" she asked in a whisper.

The All Mother jerked her head back to stare at Eos in bewilderment. Her bright blue eyes widened as the image Zeus had shown her started to make more sense. The goddess pulled away from Eos and strode towards the parchment on the floor.

Eos followed her and gasped when she saw what the All Mother was peering at. She bent down and guided her hand across the figure of the person to the left of Odin, the one with a dragon on it.

"Frigg, this is Panlong, this is a drawing of the sacrifice." The goddess quickly looked up at the All Mother who appeared to be completely lost at what Eos had just said.

"Frigg?" Eos asked in a concerning tone.

The All Mother didn't budge with the call, as her eyes darted over the image, trying to piece everything together. "I'm going to kill them both, first my husband and then that wizard." She muttered.

Eos didn't question the statement Frigg had made, she half guessed this was something that the goddess had not been made aware of. "I'm so sorry Frigg, if I knew that you didn't know, I would have-"

"It's not you're place to apologise, those who have left me in the dark will answer for it." Freyja turned to face the other goddess. The All Mother's features became callous as she thought over how best to deal with the new information.

Eos rose from crouching over the picture and edged herself closer to Frigg. She pulled out a small scroll from a pouch that hung on the inside of her peplos outfit and handed it to her.

Freyja took it without question and nodded at the auburn haired woman. "I'll make sure to pass it on, but I can't promise you it will get to her though, I don't even know where Panlong is. I didn't even know until a moment ago that she was still alive for that matter."

The goddess searched Eos' blue eyes before sighing. "I'm sick of being made the fool." Freyja admitted coldly.

Eos gave her a small smile and placed a tender hand on Frigg's stoic face. "I wish we had more time to discuss what has happened, but I assure you my friend that you were not left out. I don't know why Mimir didn't tell you about the ritual, but I don't think it would have been done without reason." Eos said as she was trying to reassure the All Mother as best as she could.

Freyja placed a hand over the one on her check and smiled back at her. "I'm sure you're right, I should have known they were both up to something." They stared at each other for a moment before Freyja realised they were going to be caught if they continued to talk to one another any more.

"You should go now." She gently pulled away Eos' hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

Eos smiled and nodded at her, the goddess gave Frigg a small wave before disappearing in a flash of bright light.

Freyja eyed the parchment as she was left alone again. It didn't make complete sense, as she still did not understand the extent of what it meant, but what she had gathered was enough to guess it was from the past and not the future. Zeus had the Fates, and she had the Norms. And it seemed that both seers were as unpredictable as the other, never giving you a straight answer, but always leaving you with more questions than you had to begin with.

A solider marched down the hallway and pointed a spear at the goddess indicating he was there to escort her back outside of the palace. The All Mother left without question and watched for a moment as the other solider made his way across the circular room to pick up the scroll.

* * *

Scathach yawned as she watched the droplets of rain splash against the window pane of the room, listening to Merlin scribble out something on a piece of paper in a far corner of the room.

"You think she'll talk to you again?" the warrior asked in half a daze.

Merlin didn't stop to give her an answer as he sighed with the question. Instead the wizard finished the letter to Emma and left it to dry before moving away from the desk. They had been renting a small living space in a boarding house to the west of the city. It was a lot bigger than staying at the Inn and more affordable. Although they didn't really need to worry about coin, as Merlin was more than capable of producing what they needed, they just had to remain partly in hiding until the wizard was able to let King David know he was there.

Scathach felt odd about how Mimir confessed to the pirate that he used to be a god and that Scathach was cursed to reborn as a raven until she was returned to her original state. He told her about the tablet, about Emma, about almost everything. The warrior thought he was putting too much trust in this stranger, he was taking a massive risk and she couldn't for the life of it understand his motive behind it.

Merlin sat on the end of his bed and begun to stroked his beard. "She will come around in time, it was a lot to take on and I honestly don't blame her for thinking we were both insane." He smiled at remembering Milah's face becoming more confused and shocked when he told her of what had been planned before she even existed.

"I should go see her." Scathach blurted out, but hadn't meant to voice her thoughts out loud. The warrior darted her eyes away from the window and glanced at Merlin. "Just to make sure she's okay and not freaking out or something." She added quickly.

Merlin smiled into his hand and then let the smile drop away as he brought his hand down to let it rest in his lap. "It's pouring outside Scathach, I don't think-"

"I don't mean now of course!" She gave him a disgruntled look while waving a hand out at the wet glass, showing him she obviously could see it wasn't the best of times to go wandering about.

"Why are you all of the sudden interested in what Milah thinks?" he turned his head to face the redhead better. Scathach was propped up on a wooden chair; legs crossed one over the other on the small table in the middle of the room. He had lost count of how many times he'd asked her to take her feet off it in the two and a half years of living in the boarding house.

Scathach gingerly folded her arms and cupped her hands at the back of her head as she stared at the ceiling. "I'm not interested, Mimir, I'm concerned because what you have told her. Its dangerous information and I need to make sure she hasn't told anyone else." She then brought her eyes down from the ceiling to look at him. "It's been almost a week since she's spoken to you, and how long before she takes off to the open sea?"

Merlin pursed his lips in thought. "Okay, well go see her then if you must, I am sure she won't betray us though." He got up off the end of the bed and rolled the letter up on the table. "And while you're gone you can send this off as well." He turned and walked over to the redhead holding out the scroll for her to take.

Scathach frowned at Merlin. "I just thought you said not to leave now?"

"Yes well, from memory I know you don't really care what type of weather is about and I do know that when you have something on your mind you don't sleep. So the sooner you relieve your curiosity the better it will be for the both of us."

Scathach gave him an unimpressed look and shifted an arm to take the scroll from his hand. "And how does it benefit you, pray tell?" she asked sarcastically.

"Because when you can't sleep, you pace, and when you pace you keep me awake. Therefore it benefits us both if you go now rather than later." He raised a single eyebrow at her, emphasising his point.

The warrior rolled her eyes at him and apprehensively stood up. She tucked the letter into her belt and rubbed her face a few times. She was happy to have a full outfit of suitable leather armour now. It didn't shift about like the other one had. This set also hid most of her scars and tats she had on her body, which made her less worried about other people asking her what the symbols on her skin meant. People could be such a nuisance at times.

"Scathach don't leave the letter there, put it in a pouch for Freyja's sake, it will get wet otherwise." Merlin pointed out, slightly annoyed at her lack of forethought.

She gave him a blank look as she tugged the letter from her belt and stuffed into a pouch hanging on the right of her hip. "Happy?" she quipped at the wizard.

Merlin ignored the remark and thanked the warrior as she grabbed her cloak and marched out of the room. He cringed at the door being slammed shut.

It was a touchy subject for his friend when it came to how she felt about something, or someone for that matter. Scathach wasn't one to show weakness, or what she would consider weakness. His friend would go to the ends of the earth to avoid admitting she was afraid or worried. It's probably why she was given the titles; 'She Who Strikes Fear' or 'the Dark Goddess'. There were a few others, but his favourite would had to of been; 'the Shadowy One' as it accurately described how good of a fighter she really was. He sometimes had to remind himself she was completely mortal, now and before the war, and this was something he truly marvelled about the warrior.

xxx

A knock awoke the sleepy captain as she had let the oceans waves send her off to slumber with the rocking motion it had created. The mild storm's thunder rumbled off in the distance as her mind slowly came back from a dream she was having, it wasn't anything particularly interesting, she just couldn't seem to focus properly though.

"What is it?" She called out to the second bout of knocks. Milah lifted herself off from her warm bed and stomped across the room to grab the handle of the door.

"What the bloody Hel what do you want?" she asked with an annoyed tone while opening the dark wooden barricade between her and the weather, even if her ship was still in the cave it didn't mean the wind couldn't get in.

Her first mate Morcant shivered while tightening his grip on the thickly woven cloak. The wind howled as it seemed to find its way into the cavernous mouth of the hideout at the most unfortunate time. The rough breeze made Milah shudder while she gave her first mate a stern look.

"What is it Morcant, what the Hel do you want?" she barked as she wrapped her arms around her core to regain some lost warmth.

"The lady Sascha is here to see you." He replied with chattering teeth. While the first mate had a reputation of being quite tough when it came to the harshness of the sea's climate, he was still human and he couldn't hide his cold exterior from the captain any longer.

Milah's eyes widened for a moment before she quickly pulled them back and replied with a nonchalant voice. "Fine let that cretin see me."

He turned his head and nodded to another crewman to guide the woman to the captain's cabin. "I'll head back down below deck, unless you needed something?" Morcant asked while biting the inside of his mouth to stop his teeth from gnashing together.

Milah could see he was clearly freezing and she shook her head so he could get out of the blasted wind. "Nope, you can head off now." She flicked her hand to emphasize she wanted him to go. The first mate gave her a quick nodded and took off.

Scathach shoved the man as he placed a hand on her shoulder to indicate she was allowed to approach the captain's private quarters. Milah watched the brief tussle which caused her to slightly smirk at the display. Even if this woman wasn't who she had met originally, it didn't mean she still didn't find her interesting.

"Sascha don't rough up my Boatswain." She commented as she walked towards the heated two.

The warrior growled at the man while she eased her closed fit back from executing an upper cut. The sailor was standing tall and leaned inwards, trying to look as intimidating as possible, which wasn't difficult as he was probably broader than the most men on the vessel. His barrel shaped chest puffed out slightly with the captain's command.

"Don't ever touch me." The warrior hissed at the boatswain and then she turned her whole body to face Milah instead, now ignoring him.

The weathered looking man jerked his head back marginally with the comment and frowned at the redhead. His eyes darted to the captain's and shrugged.

"Its fine Jacob, she's allowed to have her weapon. Don't worry I'll handle it from here." Milah said. She eyed the sailor as he gingerly walked away still looking over his should now and again until he reached the entrance way to below the deck.

Another bout of biting wind blew against the pair. Milah shuddered with its passing and gave the redhead a disapproving look. "Hurry up and tell me what the Hel you want, its bloody freezing!" she remarked bitterly. The loose fitting long sleeved shirt and tight tan coloured trousers protected her little from the cold. The only thing that was keeping the wind from chilling her completely was the long pair of boots she hadn't taken off yet.

Scathach was wearing a thick cloak that was lined with an unknown animal's fur to keep the elements from snatching away body heat, plus her leather armour also kept most of the harsh wind at bay. "Well maybe the smart thing we could do here is go into your cabin." The redhead pointed out as she was somewhat confused by why they hadn't already moved yet.

Milah darted her eyes away from Sascha's and moved closer to her instead. "No, I don't think that will happen, so just tell me what you want." She replied.

Scathach huffed at the captain and grabbed her by the arm. "Only fools would willing let themselves get sick."

Scathach pushed the captain towards the cabin, resisting her slaps and harsh words. She kicked open the cabin's door and shoved the disgruntled woman into the warm room while closing the door behind her.

Milah quickly flung a blanket around her shoulders as she picked it up off her bed and then plopped herself into her chair. "Speak woman before I have you thrown out." The captain instructed.

Scathach gave her an unyielding glare. As if she would be made to leave unwilling, she thought to herself. "I came here to see if you have told anyone else about what Merlin told you, it's been almost a week since you've spoken to him."

Milah adjusted the grey blanket around her body, giving herself a hood. "Oh I see how it is, he sent his little messenger bird to check up on me, has he?" She turned her head away from the warrior and watched the lantern's flame flicker quietly inside its glass chamber.

Scathach remained in the same spot near the closed door and clenched her jaw. She inhaled a deep breath of air as Merlin had instructed her to do before she felt like tearing off someone's limbs and beating them with it. "Actually, I came to see you of my own accord, I -" she paused not knowing what she really wanted to say next.

Milah flicked her head back and stared at Sascha.

The warrior shook her head and stepped towards the table in the room, trying to continue. "I wanted to make sure you hadn't gone mad from the information Merlin told you." She pulled on the chair next to the right of Milah and dragged it down along the table to giving them some space and then sat down to face the captain.

"Nope, I'm perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be after being told how Merlin is a reincarnated god and your some legendary warrior from three hundred or something years ago, who just happened to be turned back into a human, but now has no memory of me." She said cheerily, shoot Sascha a forced grin.

"I don't remember being a raven for all that time either. And I'm sorry I don't remember you and how you…" Scathach couldn't admit the pirate to saving her life. Her pride compelled her not to. But she remembered how Merlin told her she needed to be more aware of how it was getting in her way from forming lasting friendships or even getting others to cooperate with her. This time she swallowed her pride, just this once, for Merlin.

"…And how you saved my life." She said hastily. The warrior chewed on the inside of her mouth with the confession.

Milah eyed her for a moment, seeing how it was a difficult thing for Sascha to admit that she had been vulnerable at one time. When they talked at length in her cabin a few days ago she had seen more of the warrior's personality, and there were sides she quite enjoyed, and others not so much.

The captain let her gaze wander over Sascha's nicked skin on her face. Little scars from an unknown amount of fights the captain guessed. They weren't ugly or made the redhead hard on the eyes, they were just interesting to study.

"How was your faced scared Sascha?" Milah asked in a more concerned tone. She may have not wanted the woman in her private quarters originally, but the more that the time passed by, the more the captain wanted Sascha to stay a little longer and so decided to strike up a conversation about anything else other than what Merlin disclosed.

The redhead shifted in the chair as it was an uncomfortable subject for her to discuss openly. "I don't want to talk about it." She replied blankly, hoping the pirate wouldn't pry.

Milah thinned her lips with answer. "Fine, how about your name then, what would you prefer to be called by I mean." She lifted her arms up under the blanket and rested her head against her hands as her elbows pressed against the table top. The pirate's demeanour eased into a more pleasant state as she studied the warrior more.

"Scathach is my name. But if for the sake of keeping both Merlin and I hidden from trouble, I don't entirely mind the name Sascha either." The redhead didn't enjoy the strange title, but it wasn't as horrible as some of the other ones she had been attached with in the past.

"Do you know what the name _Sascha_ means?" Milah asked.

Scathach shook head and chuckled. "Let me guess, _weakling_?" she said sarcastically, not expecting the pirate to shoot her an unpleasing look.

"Actually the name Sascha means Protector of Mankind." She remarked annoyingly. Milah liked the name and even the woman attached to it. What she didn't enjoy though was the warrior's constant attitude to compare everything as either weak or strong.

"I think you could learn to be more humble, _Sascha_." Milah added while she craned her head to the side, trying to get her neck to stop being tense.

Scathach didn't argue with the pirate as Merlin's words rang inside the warrior's head, '_Try to make more friends Scathach, they are a valuable part to life itself._' Scathach scoffed at the thought, she had Mimir and he was enough for her to handle.

The auditable remark caused the pirate to crack her neck as she quickly looked at the redhead to see why she had made the noise.

"Ouch!" Milah whimpered to herself, the pirate's face scrunched up with pain as she clasped a hand to the back of her neck.

Scathach suddenly felt worried about the captain and rose from the seat. "Here let me see where it hurts." It only took the redhead a few steps before she was beside the pained captain. The warrior griped her closed fist and popped her knuckles, doing the same to the other hand as she prepared to inspect the strained neck muscle.

Scathach decided to do as Merlin suggested and help someone else other than herself, or him, to make friends as he would put it. Well maybe just one, one that she liked to look at least. Scathach paused with strange thought and then pushed it the very back of her mind while moving her hands towards the captain's neck.

Milah edged away from the redhead and gave her an unpleasant look. "No, you're not touching me with those hands." Milah said as she leaned further away from Sascha.

"What do you mean by _those hands_!?" Scathach remarked angrily while she flung them up to look at them closer. They weren't as calloused as they had been almost three years ago, not having to fight and train as she had before caused them to become somewhat softer over time. They weren't ugly either, sure they were well used, but compared to some of the men the captain had on the ship, her hands were impressive.

"My hands aren't ugly!" the redhead cried as she almost shoved them towards Milah's face.

The captain moved the blanket away from her arms and cupped the distressed warrior's clawed fingers. Milah had expected Sascha's hands to be freezing cold and this is what she had meant by the remark earlier, but the dark haired woman was shocked to find them pleasantly warm as she continued to hold them firmly.

They both remained silent and unmoving as the captain held the warrior's heated hands in her own. Scathach's face eased back as more time passed on, but felt like the situation had become awkward and abruptly tugged her hands back towards her chest.

Milah hid a blush from the other woman as she turned her head away and readjusted the blanket to cover her body and head again. The captain closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes of air before returning her eyes to the warrior's, hoping that her slightly redden face was now back to normal. Milah's heart began to beat a little faster than before as her grey eyes locked with the teal coloured ones of Sascha's. The captain couldn't believe how juvenile her body was around this woman, it frustrated her slightly.

"You're hands aren't ugly Sascha, I just thought they would have been cold from the weather outside." She said in a small voice. Milah looked away from her as she fought back another blush, curing herself for feeling this way about someone she hardly knew.

Scathach glanced over her fingers and palms and then let her arms drop down beside her. "Oh." Was all she said back.

More awkward silence filled the small cabin. The warrior felt like she needed to break it before it started to drive her into madness.

"Well, they're not." Scathach said as she darted her eyes to the side and felt like she should probably leave as this was getting weird, or at least she felt it was.

The captain didn't look at the warrior though; instead she pulled the blanket down and bunched it around underneath her arms to remain warm. Milah's head was turned away to allow her neck to be exposed more, the captain's untamed hair tumbled somewhat to her front and back with the action. "But I guess because they are not, you can touch me."

The captain frowned at the sentence she just said, as it sounded all too sexualised and hoped the warrior hadn't taken it that way. Like Sascha even thought of her like that way, why would she?

Scathach cleared her throat and clapped her hands together as if it would will away the uncomfortable feeling building inside her. She brushed the pirate's dark hair back, noting how soft it felt against the back of her hand as she flicked it out of the way. Another wave of strange feelings struck the redhead, which caused her to talk about the neck injury as a distraction.

"What did you do to cause the muscle to be injured?" she asked in a higher tone than she intended to. _Stop being so awkward Scathach_! She internally berated herself.

Milah closed her eyes as the warrior's slightly rough hands massaged her sore neck. She bit her lower lip to stop a pleasing moan escape, not wanting to make Sascha feel unsettled by it. The captain was thankful that her face was hidden away as she allowed it to redden again, her heart drummed along with each touch and pull of the woman's fingers against her skin.

Scathach frowned at the knot she could feel in the captain's neck and at the fact Milah hadn't answered her yet. "Hey, how did you injure it?" she asked stopping to shake the woman gently with her left hand.

Milah was slowly pulled from her delighted daze. "What?" she asked confusingly, only partially peeking at the warrior, still fearful of exposing her blushing cheeks.

Scathach huffed and forced the woman to turn her head completely away again. "You have a pretty bad knot in your neck. It starts here and runs along right down to this point." The redhead pressed her right thumb into the flesh of the pirate's upper neck and dragged it down the marked skin to stop just a palms space before the captain's shoulder. "You must have slept wrong, I guess." Scathach was thinking of anything to talk about, trying to divert her from the pirate's supple skin.

Milah clenched her fists and bit her lower lip harder than before. It was pure torture to have to push down the sighs and moans she wanted to release unabashedly. Was it really worth the torment of having the warrior try to fix her sore neck muscles or to simply just let her neck remain tense? But her weighing up of whether one was worse than the other washed away as Sascha kneaded her fingers along the knot, causing it to relax and ease back.

The redhead dug her fingers deeper in as the muscle became more laxed and almost froze as she heard Milah moan loudly, but decided to take it as a sign she wasn't hurting the pirate and had released some of the tension Milah was harbouring.

Milah apologised for the outburst and assured Sascha that it wouldn't happen again.

"Psh, I thought I might have hurt you actually. If you need to moan out loud then do it, that way I know I'm doing it right." Scathach paused briefly as she realised what she had said could be taken a different way.

The redhead gulped quietly and continued to work away the evasive array of knots, as she got one worked out another would take its place a few inches away. How long had the pirate gone without making sure her body was ready for battle? Scathach let the thought fade away realising that the captain may not have been in a fight for a long time and perhaps she wasn't aware of how to maintain a fighter's physical condition.

Scathach listened to Milah groan and then sigh longingly. The redhead was feeling quite unsettled by the noises, even if she said it was fine, she had lied. "So how long have you been a captain for?" the warrior asked suddenly, fighting back the bursts of strange waves the sounds where having on her body.

"Hmmm?" Milah hummed as her head started to lolly bout while letting her throat make more clearly pleasing sounds, as she was told it didn't upset the warrior.

The redhead shook her gently. "I asked how long you've been a captain for?" but it was useless, the pirate was too far gone in relaxation to hear what Scathach was saying. The warrior rolled her eyes and finished up the last part of the captain's neck and then took her hands away.

Milah groaned with their departure and looked at Sascha. "No, I have more on the other side." She said in a pleading tone, pouting at the warrior. She hadn't meant to act this way, it was unintentional. Milah thought she should just straighten herself out now and completely overlook what she had just said. There was a chance for her to recover from letting the warrior see her more childish side.

Scathach gave her an unreadable glare. On the inside though the warrior was fighting back a smile at the sight of a captain called the Pirate Queen begging her to continue. She could feel her face become heated and quickly placed a hand against it, confused as to why her skin felt like it was burning. Scathach hadn't felt this before, it was unnatural to her and she didn't like it. Everything her body was doing was wrong, and she couldn't wrap her head around it.

"My face feels like it's on fire. Is my face burning?" She blurted out while leaning down to show the captain, hoping it wasn't some sort of after effect of Odin's magic. Yes it had to be magic, the warrior thought.

Milah's face tinted a shade of pink with Sascha suddenly being so close to her. But it soon faded as she studied the woman's distressed features and discovered that Sascha was not on fire, she was simply blushing. The pirate's heart raced at how the warrior may feel the same way she had felt about her. There may be a chance after all.

Milah's heart had been broken before and while she remained adamant to not let another person regardless of gender close to her again she was afraid that Sascha may have left an irremovable mark on it years ago when they had first met. The pirate would consider herself to be romantic, but the thought of love at first sight made her a little uneasy.

In the three years of not seeing the redhead Milah hadn't given the woman much thought, but as soon as she had seen Sascha in the pub with Merlin after all that time, something had certainly developed. As if all that time only made her realise she wanted this mysterious teal eyed woman in her life more than any other person she had meet before.

Milah darted her eyes away from the redhead and flipped her blanket over her head to create a hood. "You're fine Sascha. Perhaps you should talk to Merlin about how you're feeling."

"Yes, perhaps. I suspect it may be from Odin's magic, I don't want to burst into a ball of fire of something." She said jokingly at the end, trying to ease her anxious feelings from exposing themselves to the captain.

Milah couldn't hear the wind howling any more as it must have died down now, which meant the captain had to prepare for a shipment of cargo to be taken to Harbour Lyngbakr later that night and didn't have time to fuss over her feelings at this moment in time, she was grown ass woman, a captain and a queen amongst the sea. This childish behaviour was beyond her.

"Thank you Sascha for helping my aching neck, I appreciate it immensely. But I have a lot of work to prepare for and I think the storm has died down now." The captain rose from her chair and threw the blanket back onto her untidy bed. She grabbed her belt and finely detailed leather top and started to get dressed.

Scathach watched her put on the leather tunic-like top and flick her hair back from being stuck in between it. Time seemed to have slowed down right in front of the redhead as she could suddenly take in every detail of the pirate, as if Milah was the only important thing in the room. Her head started to spin as her heart began to beat hard against her chest_. _What kind of magic was Milah using on her? She thought.

"I don't feel so good." Scathach stuttered before stumbling against the table.

Milah dropped her belt on the ground raced over to the warrior as she fumbled about up against the table, causing it to grate across the ground of her cabin. The captain fought back a disappointed glare at the warrior for damaging her polished floor.

"Sascha, what's the matter?" Milah asked hastily while helping the warrior to stand more up right. The redhead didn't answer her though and so the captain decided to edge her towards her own chair and placed the woman into it.

Milah bent down onto her knees, not worried if they would be hurt as her long boots created a cushion against the hard wooden floor. She brought a caring hand up to the warrior's pale face and sweep away a few stands of loose blood red hair from Sascha's face, thinking they must have come lose from the wind as the warrior's hair was tied back. The action reminded the pirate of when she had done something similar when Sascha nearly drowned.

The image of Sascha's semi exposed body tugged at the captain's desires to close the distance between them. But this wasn't exactly the right time to make such a move, as the warrior was clearly not well.

"Hey, talk to me, tell what you're feeling." Milah asked in a gentle tone. Placing her hand on the warrior's knee and giving it a soft squeeze.

Scathach gripped the chair's armrests tightly as she tried to get her heart to settle while it thudded harder with the pirate's touch. But the more Milah stared at her, the greater the difficulty it was for the warrior to regain control of her breathing. "I think you're using magic on me." The redhead replied.

"I beg your pardon?" Milah asked giving Sascha puzzled look, her brows drawing together while her upper lip arched.

"I don't know what magic you're using on me _Pirate Queen_, but I can tell you right now I have suffered through far worse." Scathach slapped away the captain's hand on her knee and stood to kick the chair back. The warrior's senses rapidly returned as she let her anger fuel her decisions.

Milah sprung up and shrugged at the warrior with her palms open. "What the bloody Hel are you talking about?" she asked with an annoyed tone.

"Oh don't play coy with me, I know you must have thought you could trick me into being nice to you and then when I was close enough you'd use some sort of spell, which would make me feel all weak and strange." Scathach flicked her left hand around while the other was gripped firmly on the hilt of her sword. "But you have dearly underestimated my ability to resist most magical effects." She pointed the expressive waving hand at the pirate with the last of her sentence.

Milah chuckled at the warrior and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't have any magic you stupid woman." She said in a harsh tone. It was meant to be more of an earnest comment, but the pirate didn't like the way she was being spoken to.

The two women stood off against one another, waiting to see who would make the first move. Scathach wasn't sure if the pirate was telling the truth. And Milah wasn't entirely sure how to dissolve the obviously confused warrior.

"Enough of your tricks, I'll settle this here and now." Scathach drew her double edged blade and pointed it at the captain. "There's nothing you can do to stop me."

Milah smirked at the gesture and started to strut towards her.

Scathach titled her head back slightly and gritted her teeth, exposing them as she told the pirate to halt, but her command was unsuccessful as the pirate approached her still.

Milah ignored her sword and placed the back of her left hand against the flat of the blade, pushing it effortlessly away. "Why Sascha I think the only magic being used here, isn't actually magic at all." She said in a husky tone. She didn't know where this unexpected boost of confidence was coming from, but she decided to ride it out for a little longer while it lasted.

Scathach's body quaked with a wave of energy that she couldn't describe as the sultry tone of the captain's voice entered her hears, seeping through into her core. The warrior wished Mimir was here to break the captain's unknown magic.

"Lies, you're using it right now. I can't breathe, I can't think, my whole body feels like it's about to boil over!" she exclaimed at the pirate angrily.

Milah gazed up at the slightly taller woman as she took another step closer and tilted her head to one side. "Oh you truly stupid woman, have you never felt love before?" Milah asked while her eyes quickly darted at Sascha's lips and then rested back on the redhead's eyes.

Scathach burst out in laughter at the very idea of love. It was something she never even let pass her mind before. No, she was going to live and die as a warrior, never settle with a man nor have children.

Milah jolted with the other woman's roaring chuckle, feeling slightly put off. The captain, now becoming infuriated with the warrior's lack of romantic understanding, hooked her finger into the woman's leather belt and tugged on it hard to halt the insulting mirth.

Scathach coughed with the shake and peered down at Milah who looked rather pissed. This was something she was more familiar with. This was something she could work with, the warrior thought.

"I don't do love, it's for the weak." Scathach said in a low tone as if the word itself was poison and she needed to get rid of it.

"Well you're heart doesn't choose to do as you want it to." The captain rebutted bitterly. Milah couldn't understand how they ended up here, were had it all gone wrong?

"My heart does exactly as I tell it to!" Scathach barked back leaning her face closer to Milah's.

The flames in the two lanterns situated across either side of the room flickered silently in the small cabin while the two women stared at one another sharply. Casting shadows of the two to dance about the room, adding more drama to the scene.

Milah went against her better judgement and fought back her screaming mind, telling her that this was not the right moment to show the warrior how she felt, but the pirate couldn't take it any more. Milah just wanted the bloody woman to shut her stupid mouth and accept that they both felt something for each other.

"Then I guess you won't feel anything if I did this?" she said while closing the gap between the two. The pirate tilted her head and hastily stole the warrior's lips with her own, sliding a hungry hand up behind the Sascha's neck and drew her in to harden the embrace.

Scathach's eye bulged with the unpredictable move the pirate had made. She wanted to fight back, but her body wouldn't let her as it seemed to ease into the kiss. The warrior remained unmoving as she heard the sound of steel colliding with the wooden floor, realising she hadn't felt her sword slip away from her fingers.

* * *

Emma gasped while she looked around searching for Aureate. The teen was sure she had caught up with the beast, remembering she had heard it only a few feet away. It was completely dark out tonight, as no moon hung in the sky, which made the hunt for Aureate incredibly difficult. She was constantly fighting back the thoughts of spiders and other crawling things touching her body.

Unable to stand any more she bent over and slapped her hands on her knees concentrating on getting more control over her heaving lungs. Once she was breathing back to normal again, the blonde peered around, hoping to hear where Aureate had gone.

"How the Hel could I lose a ten foot golden furred bear in the forest?!" she complained while flailing her arms about in frustration. But then gave herself some credit for getting this far in almost complete darkness.

"I bet I'm completely lost. I really didn't think this through." Emma whined as she brought her head back up and searched the starry sky above through the forests canopy. It was the only source of light she could find.

The strange sounds of animals and bugs cried and clicked from time to time, only fuelling the blonde's wild imagination on. Emma started to feel scared as her mind played tricks on her, casting images of nightmares she had when she was younger.

The teen lifted her right hand up and closed her eyes, but opened them almost instantly as she felt that only scared her more to do so. "Okay Emma, you can do this, you can cast fire if you really want to." She said to herself hoping it would instil some much need confidence.

The teen's fingers started to flicker with sparks of light as the flames grew, but then sadly died out briefly after. Emma groaned as she couldn't understand how it was harder for her with each passing year to cast the element. She flicker her hand away and gave up on trying to summon it again.

The blonde cupped her hands around her mouth to give her voice a greater reach. "Aureate!" she cried out "Aureate!"

The wild woman's names bounced about the unseen trees strewn around the teen, which only added to the already lost state on where she actually was. Emma heard a rustle of foliage from behind her and spun around to slam into the bear she was looking for.

The upright beast looked down at the blonde. The bear's golden eyes glinted for a moment as she studied her friend and then she lifted her head back up and looked around.

Emma looked up at the giant bear, not sure if Aureate was actually still in control of herself or not. And if she wasn't then Emma had better start running now.

"_Aureate_?" The blonde asked in a small tone while edging away from her.

The bear came down on to all fours with a thud and sniffed at Emma's face. The teen didn't dare move, still unsure if the wild woman was in control. If Emma made any sudden moves it might startle the bear into attacking her.

Aureate nudged at Emma, causing her place both hands onto the bear to stop herself from falling backwards, because of the abrupt jab the bear had given her with its head. The bear began to hum as it nudged at the teen more, rubbing its body against her now while Emma gripped clumps of Aureate's fur to keep herself from being pushed over.

"Whoa there, I'm not as strong as you." Emma said now knowing by the strange behaviour that the wild woman must be in control of her actions, as only she would do something so odd.

Aureate stopped her actions when she felt that she had passed enough of her own scent on to Emma and then poked her bulky head in between the teen's legs, bucking her head up the get Emma onto her back. The blonde yelped with the unexpected force as she grasped at the rough fur to help stabilise her confused state.

Aureate growled in slight pain as Emma started to rip some of the bear's fur in her attempts to remain seated. The wild woman huffed and waited for the blonde to regather her senses and then she started to wander off towards the cave feeling the teen wrapped tightly on her back.

xxx

The sounds of snoring and wheezing filled the blonde's ears as she started to awaken. She gingerly opened her eyes and dazedly stared at the fuzzy pink object close to her face, after a few moments the blonde's eyes focused on what she had been looking at.

Emma pushed herself back abruptly, a disgusted look on her face as she slapped the wild woman's dirty foot away from her. She hadn't meant to lash out, but it was done instinctively. Emma hoped it wouldn't wake the woman though.

Aureate grunted with the slap and then kicked her foot out to impact with the middle sized bear, Torbern, who then growled and smacked a paw against Belenos' buttocks, which in turn caused him to groan unhappily. Emma sucked her lips in as she held back a burst of laughter from the hilarious scene. But it was in vain.

The blonde laughed heartedly as she replayed the scenario in her head a few times. The noise woke all the occupants of the cave, causing the bears to yawn and grumbled as then lazily shuffled away from the now giggling blonde. Aureate opened one eye and peeked about before she groaned and turned over to tuck herself into a ball. There was a small amount of sunlight coming in through the cave's mouth which the wild woman tried to stay away from.

"Emma what is so funny?" Belenos asked in a croaky voice. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up to look at his friend.

"Oh, I just thought of something that made me laugh, that's all." She grinned as she replayed the part where the bear slapped her friend's ass.

Belenos narrowed his eyes at her, not believing it for a minute, but let it slid as he was still trying to wake up. "I'm glad you're all right, I thought I'd have to get up early to search for you, lost out there in the forest." He said smiling at his friend.

Emma gave him a smug look. "I am perfectly capable of getting myself unlost, thank you." She was about to say something else but her face was suddenly planted against the ground.

Aureate locked the teen in place with a grapple. "Today we train, Swan." The wild woman announced haughtily while she had Emma pinned.

The teen sighed at the hold, knowing this wasn't going to be a relaxing day.

"Um, I'm all up for Emma getting pummelled, but we are actually in big trouble. Master Drui Cian will find out we were both out of the camp all night." Belenos pointed out.

Aureate pouted and let go of Emma, she then pulled the blonde up and pattered her down.

Emma grimaced with the thought of the Master being upset with her. He wasn't some horrible man you gave out rules harshly, or punishments for that matter.

"I could talk to him, your Master." Aureate offered as she stood up awkwardly. The wild woman adjusted her fur clothing while she looked back and forth between the two.

Belenos peered up at his friend and then looked at the wild woman. "Well I guess an actual guardian speaking on our behalf might work, I honestly don't know what will happen if she actually turned up in the barrier." He couldn't remember a time when either woman or bear was in the camp's grounds. Not that they weren't allowed in, it was just they protected the Grove's outer barrier, so they really had no need to enter thicket of Oaks.

Emma shrugged at the suggestion. "Why not give it a go? I'd rather have some excuse than no excuse."

Belenos stood up and shook his left leg and then his right leg, trying to get the dirt away from them. "But I think we should all agree that the fight with the Harpies needs to be left out though." He looked at Emma.

She thinned her lips and her forehead creased slightly. "Um yeah I think that's probably just going to create more trouble for us if Master Cian knew about that."

Aureate grinned as she attacked her little brother, the small bear yelped as she clung to his back.

Emma frowned as she watched the wild woman play about. "Maybe we should wait a little bit before we all head off back to the camp, let Aureate do, whatever she's doing." The blonde waved a hand towards the tumbling pair, the small bear biting at his sister's ankle while she tugged on his ear.

Belenos chuckled at the show. He turned his head to look at Emma. "Hey I need to talk to you about something, do you mind if we step outside though?" He pointed a thumb behind him.

Emma frowned again. "Okay." She drawled out. The pair walked off out of the cave and found a warm spot to sit, their backs to the morning sun.

Belenos sighed as he turned his head to eye his friend. Emma waited quietly for him to tell her what he wanted say. She looked into his worrying dark brown eyes, his light brown hair shined in the sunlight and she started to feel uneasy as the silence continued.

"So you wanted to tell me something?" she reminded him.

Belenos grabbed the back of his neck and sighed again. "I am sorry Emma." He looked away from her as he tried to think of how he wanted to really word what he felt.

"I know, and so am I. I thought we already apologised though?" the blonde's forehead crease as she thought over why he was bring up something she thought was over.

He turned back and eyed her for a moment. "No, Emma. I'm sorry for telling you want to do, for being two-face about things. I've been pushing you into this whole _hero_ thing that you may have not wanted to, and the last time I checked a friend doesn't do that." He rubbed his finger as he confessed to her his actions of late. "I thought that if I was around someone who was special, that I'd be special too."

Belenos hid his head away from Emma's eyes, ashamed of his hidden agenda. The young man started to cry and as a few tears dropped to the dirt and then he shifted his whole body away from Emma.

"Hey, Belenos, look at me." Emma slid her hands over her friend's shoulders and tried to pull him back to look at her. He resisted her though and stood up.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to stay my friend, I understand if you want me to go away." He sobbed while pacing absentmindedly back and forth.

Emma shot him annoyed look, even if he couldn't see it. "Belenos, will you stop being a complete moron? Why would I not be your friend?" the blonde stood up and moved to stand in front of him. She shoved his shoulder to get his attention. The young man looked at her, a bit surprised by her action.

"Would you have been my friend if I was not some sort of saviour? Would you have still like me if I had no magic?" she gave him a stern look.

Belenos sniffed at the questions and wiped his eyes. "Of course I would, you mean so much to me Emma, I just feel like I used you and that's not right." He argued.

Emma reached out and held his hand. "We hurt those who we care about most. I'm not saying that it makes it okay, but I at least know you mean what you say." She squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. "And you are special Belenos."

He gave her a small smile. "So are you Emma."

The blonde pulled him in for a hug. "I forgive you, just learn from your mistakes, ok?" she said as the left side of her face pressed up against his chest. Belenos nodded and hugged her tighter.

"Bear Hugs!" Aureate yelled as she barrelled out of the cave, the three bears tumbling after her.

Both Emma and Belenos froze with noise and braced themselves as the four figures enclosed the pair, furry limbs squishing against one another. The blonde didn't cry out or push them away, for in that moment she couldn't be happier to feel wanted, to feel loved.

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**ShadowCub - I'm glad you feel something towards a character, regardless if it's good or bad. It tells me I'm doing an okay job, so any sort of feed back is a positive for me. Thank you for the constant reviewing by the way.**

**ichigo111981 - Thank you for the comment, I'm happy to know you find my warped sense of story telling interesting.**

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**I hope to get these chapters out quicker, regardless of university kicking my butt.**


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